


Sin So Thick You Can't See The Stars / Can't Tell Good And Evil Apart

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is a Mess, Ben Solo leaves the First Order, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Forgiveness, Happy Ending, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Protective Rey (Star Wars), Reconciliation, Redemption, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, Stormtrooper Rebellion, Struggling with past trauma, Tragedy, but it will happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:07:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: After their separation on Crait, the paths of Ben and Rey diverge further. Rey is disillusioned by Ben's proposal to join him. She questions if she should ever have come to him, maybe Luke was right and Ben is too far gone. Ben struggles to handle killing Snoke, losing Rey, and encountering his uncle - on top of being the new Supreme Leader. Quickly he reaches his breaking point and takes drastic measures.Besides the tragedy unfolding between them, the Resistance struggles to survive, and in the First Order Hux doesn't want to play second fiddle anymore.A grand tale about unfolding tragedy and grief, war and peace, healing and hope, eventually finding that one happy end.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32
Collections: Anonymous





	1. I'm Fired Up And Tired Of The Way That Things Have Been

**Author's Note:**

> The title of the story is from Ruelle's song 'Up in Flames'.
> 
> I have a few chapters already finished and will try to continuously upload them on Tuesday. The present chapter count is an estimation and will probably change, while I write the last chapters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Rey and the Resistance in the days and weeks after the Resistance - and how long will she keep the bond between her and Ben closed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from the song 'Believer' by Imagine Dragons.

For two weeks Rey kept the bond between her, and Ben closed. She was disappointed and confused. In her vision she had seen him turn, she had been so sure of it. And then Ben had killed Snoke. This few minutes between her reaching for the saber, with whom Ben had just eliminated the Supreme Leader, and them killing the last of the guards, everything had felt right, everything had felt balanced.

Together they should have helped the Resistance, but Ben had turned against her – well not against her, but against their mutual future. Ben had had no intention of leaving the First Order, instead, he had wanted to be its leader. In the elevator he had said, that he saw her turn – Rey frowned at that memory – that would never happen, she would never follow Kylo Ren into the darkness.

Maybe Luke had been right – something broke inside Rey at that thought – maybe the old Jedi hadn't been totally on the wrong path when he had said that the darkness in Ben was too strong. She had been furious at Luke for trying to prevent Kylo Ren’s rise because Luke would have killed Ben to prevent it. But what if Luke – and Kylo – were right and Ben was gone. She had been so sure, that he was still somewhere in there, hiding beneath pain, darkness, and hurt. Waiting to ascend once again and find his light. But nothing like that had happened. Not in the slightest. If anything, the situation now was even worse.

Rey was angry, that Luke was gone now. She needed him to defeat Kylo Ren. She hadn’t even completed the small amount of training, Luke had been willing to provide her, because she had this foolish thought, that she could turn Kylo Ren back to the light. How naïve she had been. The Resistance had barely escaped Crait and was now searching for some other planet in the Outer Rim to somehow find a way to survive.

There was no one who could teach her – well no one she would allow to teach her. She only had a broken saber and Luke’s books – and they were more than unhelpful, but also the only things she could consult. Rey chided herself for not taking Ben’s saber, while he had been unconscious. Instead, she had given it back to him. She could rip out her hair, thinking back to that moment. After everything that had happened in the throne room, Rey had been too distressed to properly function after she had awoken amid the ruins of the room, the ship, and the future with Ben she had seen.

* * *

It had taken Leia and Poe a few hours to decide on a planet to travel to, but now they were on their way to Ajan Kloss, a planet more similar to D’Qar than Crait. Rey had talked to Leia about her training with Luke, but had concealed her bond with Ben, Luke’s action in the night of the destruction of his school and her visiting Ben on the Supremacy. She couldn’t tell Leia about one thing without revealing all the others – and after Luke’s recent decease she didn’t want to possibly tarnish his memory – what would Leia think about her brother should Rey tell what happened that night. They needed hope now, and what was better than a legend sacrificing themselves for them, so they could rebuild the Resistance? Revealing the truth about Luke would bring no good, so she Rey to carry it deeply buried in herself.

Rey was glad, that Finn was still with the Resistance. And apparently, he had found someone important to him. It wasn’t like she wanted him to spend more time with others than herself, but there was a rift opening between them. She couldn’t tell him about what had happened, but Finn still saw the change in her and didn’t know how to handle it, he couldn’t combine the Rey, he knew, and the Rey standing in front of him now – maybe he never really knew her, Rey’s mind added, they had spent only a couple of days together before she had left to find Luke.

But Rey was sure, that they would find their own balance again, they still had a deep connection, but the differences between them became more visible with the passing days. Rose’s presence stabilized their relationship and Rey liked the young woman and was glad about the addition.

Poe was the other new person, Rey got to know more. His brash character unsettled Rey sometimes, but all in all he seemed to be a good leader. Though Rey felt unwell every time he looked at her. There was something in his eyes, that she couldn’t decipher. As if he saw her as something, that she wasn’t. In fact, almost everyone in the Resistance treated her this weird way, which made Rey extremely uncomfortable. They looked at her for guidance, they looked at her for reassurance, they looked at her like she was the heart that kept them alive and hopeful. It was too much.

She longed for the way Ben had looked at her when they had touched hands in her hut on Ahch-too, she longed for his deep and profound understanding of her, she longed his acceptance of who she was without judgment, she longed for his stabilizing and supporting presence without making her uncomfortable or pitying her. She longed for the vulnerability both could share with each other.

But this boy, this man was gone. She had witnessed it as he had looked at the empty throne. And yet – he had been deeply emotional when asking for her hand. Rey didn’t like to think back to it, to his tears, the tremble in his voice, his quivering lips – these quivering, plushy, magnetic lips.

Rey ripped herself out of her own mind, trying to ignore this train of thought – she needed a distraction. The Resistance had set up their new base on Ajan Kloss yesterday. In the following days, they would have meetings to plan the following days, weeks, and months, but now everyone had a small break. They desperately needed it having barely escaped death a few times in the last days while losing most of their comrades.

* * *

It was nighttime when Rey joined Finn, Rose, and Poe, who sat around a small fire. “What are you talking about?” she said in way of greeting. Poe sitting opposite her shrugged and answered, “Just sharing stories. We had no time to do that before. And it helps to talk about everything that happens in this war – and not keeping it all in.”

Rey cringed slightly at his comment. She desperately wanted to tell someone about Luke, about Ben – or Kylo –, about what really had happened with Snoke. On the last day, the First Order had told everyone, that Snoke had been killed by a cowardly attack of the Resistance. They spun the events as if the Resistance had just malicious driven their ship through the First Order with no regard for the people on it. Supposedly there were non-combat units killed in masses. It was a big lie, but it was yet unclear how effective the First Order’s propaganda was.

“Did you know, that Kylo Ren interrogated me, too?” Poe asked her. Rey shook her head. “He captured me on Jakku, he tortured me, it was as if he was ripping my head, my mind in two digging after the information he wanted. I was barely conscious afterward.” He shuddered. Finn seemed to agree with him. “Kylo Ren is a menace. Everyone fears him. Until Rey defeated him on Starkiller Base, I thought of him as invincible. And Snoke must have been even stronger. I am so glad, that he died because of Holdo. Imagine he AND Ren would have hunted us on Crait – we would never have survived that…”.

Rey could barely contain herself from telling them about her encounter with Snoke, how she had thought that Ben killed him to save them both. But she couldn’t, instead, she quietly said, “I wish I would have killed him in the forest on Starkiller back then.” At the same time, her mind reminded her that in that case, Snoke would probably still be alive today and she wouldn’t have the moment with Ben on Ahch-too – even if that memory was tarnished by their fight in the throne room. “Now my saber is broken, and I don’t know how to repair it, Luke is dead because he bought us time to flee…” Rey’s voice died.

She was sure, that Luke would still be alive if she hadn’t gone to Ben. And if Luke was alive, she would have been able to finish her training, would have a functioning saber, and could someday defeat Kylo and the First Order.

Rose put her arm around her shoulder and pulled Rey into her side. “This isn’t your fault, Rey. And we need to have hope, maybe we can repair the saber, maybe we can find another weapon. We will not lose this fight, Rey. I’m sure of it.”

In the darkness of night and the protection of Rose’s arms, Rey allowed herself to cry. It wasn’t the same, as talking with Ben, she still protectively guarded some things of herself, still held back, but Rose’s embrace was the next best thing. And it didn’t really matter, because there would never be a time, where she could be so open with Ben again. There was no Ben anymore. There was only Kylo Ren. And he had to die.

* * *

When she had regained her composure, Rey left the small group. The last days and especially this evening weighed heavily on her – and her anger grew again. She had managed to keep the bond closed, but she constantly had to put a wall between her and this part of her, where she was connected to the new Supreme Leader. It became more and more difficult and exhausting to keep it up.

Something was happening beyond her wall. Rey could feel it, though she couldn’t exactly discern what it was. Ben – Kylo – didn’t seem to try to tear her wall down, at least it didn’t feel like it, but there were turmoil and chaos on the other side. Her wall was like a dam trying to keep the flood out.

Rey was worn thin; she was angry and frustrated. She needed to let everything out. She couldn’t keep it in anymore – and the only person she could talk – or better yet: yell – to, was the one person she didn’t want to talk to. But there was no other possibility. Her anger needed an outlet. Maybe she could open their bond and just yell at him, that would definitely help her.

Rey separated from everyone else, wandered into the forest, and found a space, where no one would overhear her and witness her unique and dangerous bond to their enemy. She concentrated and focused on the wall that she built up in her mind – it looked similar to the exterior of the falcon. Rey had simply kept up the image of the closing door when they had left and Ben had kneeled in front of her.

She couldn’t understand how Ben – Kylo – was constantly changing in her head. When she had met him, he had been Kylo, then she got to know him and he transformed into Ben, and then he wanted her to join him and now she couldn’t differentiate between them anymore. The person, that had talked to her after the fight had seemed to be an eerie mixture of Ben and Kylo. The person she had sensed on Crait felt like the Kylo from the woods on Takodana. The person that had kneeled in front of her had had Ben’s eyes.

But Rey was sure, that Ben wasn’t really there anymore. Ben would have come with her. Ben wouldn’t have wanted her to join the First Order, she was sure of it. Kylo must have killed Ben, Ben must have disappeared or transformed into Kylo – maybe it was all Kylo’s manipulative plan. Maybe Kylo knew of her feelings towards Ben and tried to use them to confuse her – because Rey definitely had no feelings for Kylo, beside hatred, right? Rey was shortly distracted by this train of thought and her memory of their encounter in the interrogation room when he had taken off his helmet.

Rey’s anger grew and she tore down the wall, that separated her from the bond and instantly she was aware of their connection again – but it felt different from what she remembered. There had always been turmoil and chaos in Ben, but not to the extent she now felt. His presence seemed to scream, seemed to swirl while constantly changing tone, color, and texture. Rey was almost overwhelmed by its intensity and instinctively wanted to slam her wall back down, but it was too late.

Everything around her quieted down. Rey’s eyes wandered around the trees, surrounding her, waiting for Ben or Kylo to appear. She nearly overlooked him. On all fours, he was on the ground to her left. But something was wrong. The man – or creature? – she saw wore the stereotypical black of Kylo Ren, but his whole posture was off as if someone or something different inhabited his body.

The creature turned its head and looked at her. Its eyes were dark and downfallen. They were black pits in an unhealthy pale face. They couldn’t stay still but flittered around. A coarse laugh erupted out of the creature’s mouth. “So, you come to haunt me again?”

Confused Rey looked at him, all thoughts about yelling temporarily forgotten. “What?” she asked him, but he didn’t seem to hear her. “Another ghost of my collection. I have a few of them. Always remembering me of my mistakes. As if I would, could ever forget them. As if they weren’t in my head all the time.” He turned around. “So much wrong. So much pain. So many mistakes. Need to make them right. Have to kill it, yes, kill it.”

Rey took a step towards Ben – because even if this man in front of looked almost completely different, it must be him, who else should it be? “What happened to you, Ben?” Rey asked him. Gradually anger reappeared in her. She simply wanted to yell at the one person, who was responsible for the mess she was in, and now she couldn’t even do that. Kylo must have tricked her to come to him, he must have – (every alternative was too painful to consider). Everything was Ben’s –Kylo’s – fault – he had manipulated her; he had caused Luke’s death. She deserved to yell at him. He owed her that.

But Ben didn’t react to her question. “Need to erase the mistakes, erase the faults, erase everything wrong.” He wandered through the forest. “Kill the past. The time of the Sith and Jedi is over. The time of the First Order and the Resistance is over. Yes. Eradicate them. This will make it good, again. No First Order, no Resistance, no war, no problems.” He was nodding while talking to himself.

Rey was too stunned to intervene. She still didn’t really understand what was happening. Apparently, Ben had completely lost himself, had completely disappeared, but instead of Kylo Ren taking his place, something else had, something mad.

“The Force,” Ben suddenly yelled out, “the Force did that too me. Without the Force no Snoke, without the Force no Luke, without the Force no Rey.” At her name, he snapped around. Rey thought she saw some clarity rise in his eyes. Ben regarded her. “Rey,” he repeated while looking at her. A small but sad smile appearing on his face, which prompted Rey to frown. “Need to kill it, Rey,” Ben said again. “Need to kill it. It’s the only way.”

The look in his eyes got distanced again. Rey took another step in his direction. “Bye Rey.” It was only a small whisper, that escaped Ben’s mouth, but she still heard it – or she felt it, because of their bond, Rey wasn’t sure.

Then an intense pain ruptured through her. The bond seemed to explode into nothing. Ben disappeared and Rey fell to the ground, numbing pain filling her entire body and mind, she wanted to scream, but couldn’t. All the sound around her came back and in the distance, Rey heard another person scream, more precisely a woman, a woman sounding like Leia letting out a scream of agony.


	2. And Honestly Some People Are So Committed To Honesty / But I don’t Know If These Can Face That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey runs back to the Base to see what had happened and why Leia had screamed. When she arrives there, she must face some truths and try to find out what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post chapter two early - I'll probably still upload again on Tuesday because I get more writing done, than I anticipated.
> 
> The title of this chapter is from the song 'Donnie Darko' by Let's Eat Grandma.

Rey tried to regain her breath, which took her a few seconds. Then she ran back to the base as fast as she could. The trees around her seemed threatening. The darkness was oppressive. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Where the bond – or her wall – had been, gaped a deep black hole.

As she arrived at the base, the miserable remainders of the Resistance had gathered around the tent, where Leia was staying. Rey didn’t need to push through them, because everyone parted for her, letting her see inside the tent. The picture that revealed itself to her was heartbreaking. Leia sat huddled in herself on her cot while being engulfed by Chewie’s furry arms. Poe was crouching in front of her his hands on Leia’s knees, but his face told everyone that he didn’t know what was happening or what he should do. Rose and Finn stood close to the small group, a lost expression on their faces.

Tears were streaming down Leia’s face, while she was murmuring to herself. Rey couldn’t discern much of her words, but audible were ‘my son’ and ‘no’. Rey came up to Poe and he let her take over, seemingly glad, that someone wanted to take initiative. He went to Finn and Rose and waited on what Rey was doing.

Leia felt Rey approaching her and looked at her. “He is gone, just gone. From one moment to the next. Like an explosion and then nothing. I… He was so close. I felt him, as if he was on this planet, not far away.”

Tears formed in Rey’s eyes seeing the anguish in Leia’s face. Her emotions were chaotic and too many too different, Rey didn’t know how to feel about Ben’s abrupt loss in the force, she didn’t understand what it meant. She had felt Luke’s content and fulfilling passing into the force, but Ben’s was so different. There was no gradual transition, but instant nothingness.

Leia was clearly unable to handle it. For her, it seemed clear what had happened. The loss of her son in the force could only mean one thing. The last person of her family died – she was the last surviving member of the Skywalker-Organa-Solo-family. The situation reminded Leia of Alderaan’s destruction. Something in the force crying out – and then silence.

Rey wasn’t so sure, that the case was that clear. Something in her told her that Ben wasn’t dead – something else must have happened. He had been agitated, but there hadn’t been any immediate danger. Rey turned to Poe. “Tell them all to go.” Poe obeyed her command and gave everyone a sign, so they left. While Chewbacca continued to console the general, Rey stepped beside the three people still standing inside the tent.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” Rose asked her. Rey silently turned to her. “Leia and I felt a force-signature erupt and then disappear into nothing. And I don’t know what it means, but Leia seems to think, that something horrible happened to them, she thinks it means that they have died,” Rey explained her and the other two.

“But whose force signature? Luke passed away a few days ago. Han was murdered by Kylo Ren. Wait. Do people who aren’t force-sensitive even have a force-signature?”, Poe asked. He was visibly distressed – Leia was important him and seeing her in her current state was unsettling him. “Yes, they have. Although they are less noticeable.” Rey’s voice was barely audible over the noises of Leia and Chewie. “But you’re right, it wasn’t either of them.”

With a sigh she regarded them. “Do you know who Ben Solo is?” Finn nodded, his eyes widened as he concluded what she was about to reveal. “Solo like Han Solo?” Rose inquired. Poe answered for Rey. “If she talks about the Ben Solo, I think she talks about, then yes. Ben Solo was Leia and Han’s only son. I thought he died when Luke’s temple was attacked and destroyed by the First Order and Kylo Ren a few years ago?”

Finn huffed. “No! He definitely didn’t die…” Questioningly Poe and Rose looked back and forth between Finn and Rey. “Finn is right. Ben Solo didn’t die that night.” Rey expanded on Finn’s statement. “That night… There was… Not many know this… Luke…” Rey stammered. She wanted to tell them the story, but she didn’t know which parts of it. Should she reveal her knowledge? Should she tell the whole truth? Would they believe her? Did she want them to know the truth about Ben?

Finn decided to help her out. “Ben Solo attacked his uncle, killed everyone, and joined the First Order to become Kylo Ren.” Rey cringed, but when she was met with unbelieving stares by Poe and Rose, she reluctantly nodded to affirm Finn’s description of the events. “Wow!” Rose tried to process this onslaught of new information.

Poe was quicker. “So, Kylo Ren died a few moments ago?” Rey shrugged and undecidedly tilted her head left and right. “We… I am not sure. Something happened to him, but I don’t have enough knowledge to make any certain decision about what may have happened. I think Leia fears, that Ben… that Kylo is dead. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so distressed.” 

“He can’t be…” Her voice rang out behind them. “He can’t be dead. He has to come home. I told Han he would come home. Luke said no one is ever really gone. Ben… My son… He can’t be dead.” The pain in Leia’s voice was palpable. Chewie standing behind her made affirming, sad noises. Poe moved closer to the pair. “Leia, he is Kylo Ren. I… I don’t know what chance there is. After Snoke’s death, your son ascended into the position of Supreme Leader. Even if he deserted, I… I don’t think there will be much coming home. At best he is allowed a life-long prison sentence or exilement on a lonely, solitary moon.”

Leia’s glare let Poe gulp. Even in her distressed state, Leia could bring up enough strength to let her eyes became cold and menacing. Finn put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t, Poe. Now is not the time.” Poe shrugged and silence stood between them once again. Rey decided that they needed clarity now – they needed to know if Ben really died or if something else had happened. “Leia, did you feel what exactly happened to him? Because… I’m not sure if he really is… you know?” Rey had not the heart to complete her sentence.

Leia weakly shook her head. “Normally I only feel him like a distant shadow. I know he is there but nothing more – not until his attack on the Raddus. There we reconnected. I know he couldn’t kill me – but others attacked us in his stead. And just now his presence was so close, so intense… and then just exploded… and now: nothing – it was similar to Alderaan getting destroyed: A scream and then silence.”

Rey regarded the older woman cautiously. “I could… I don’t know if it will work, but I could try to locate him. Since Starkiller Base I can feel him in the force, I could try to discern, if there is still something there, you know?” Even in her worried state, Leia recognized that Rey wasn’t telling her the whole truth, that she was hiding something. But there were more important things now. She needed more information about her son. Leia nodded to show her approval and Rey closed her eyes.

Her mind went to the place, where the bond had been and now nothingness reigned. She tried to feel along the border, tried to see where the hole inside her went, how it felt like. Slowly she noticed, that it was more like a gap dividing her and whatever was behind the nothingness. There was something where the bond should be. Some kind of intentional nothingness. Maybe something like a veil. On Ahch-too she had seen what death and decay felt like, and nothing of it was in the place of her bond, instead, it seemed like an isle of nothingness. As if something was there, but the thing that was there was nothing. As if nothing was a thing.

Rey reopened her eyes. A sad smile formed on her face and she took one of Leia’s hands. “Good and bad news, I think.” Her eyes wandered to Poe. “Something must have happened to Kylo, to Ben, but it doesn’t look like he died.” A deep sigh escaped Leia, while Poe huffed somewhat frustrated. Finn and Rose stayed silent and Chewie kept to himself, but intently observed the exchange.

“I can feel where he should be,” Rey continued, “but something is blocking me. Well, not something, more like nothing. Nothing is blocking me.” Rey frowned and puffed. “I know where his signature should be and there is something there, but somehow it’s surrounded by nothingness,” Rey remembered, how she reached out on Ahch-too and how Luke had felt. “I think Ben did something similar as Luke did. Both disconnected themselves from the force, but somehow Ben has done it on a more profound level.”

“But why has he done that?” Rose asked. “He is the leader of the First Order now – the Supreme Leader. Why does he weaken himself like that? Shouldn’t he do like the exact opposite, trying to connect more to the Force and not less?” Rey’s gaze flickered to Rose and then back down again. She shrugged helplessly. That was the whole question, wasn’t it? What had happened to Ben? She had seen him, and he hadn’t been the person she remembered, none of them…

“What aren’t you telling us, Rey?” Leia asked her. “I can see that you are hiding something important. Please tell us. All cards need to be on the table if we want to find the best way forward.” Rey looked at Chewie, he was the only one who knew most of her story. The Wookie made a sad noise prompting her to open up about her visit to Ben. Rey nodded resigned and Rose and Finn got closer. “After Starkiller, after I got to Ahch-too a bond opened between Kylo – or Ben – and me. We could see each other from across the galaxy, but nothing else. The first two times we… I yelled at him. But our… relationship… our connection, it changed. I had a vision, that Ben was turning back to the light and I decided to go to him.” Rey knew she was skimming some important details, but she wasn’t ready to tell them the whole truth.

“Chewie brought me close to the Supremacy and I used an escape pod to get there.” Leia was aghast at that part and stared at Chewbacca, who only shrugged and told her, that they had needed to try. For Ben. “Ben brought me to Snoke and I was tortured.” Finn, Poe, and Rose were shocked. They didn’t know what to think. Finn got his bearings back the fastest. “How could you be so stupid, Rey?”

“You did almost the same thing, Finn” she returned agitated. Seeking support and help Finn turned to Rose, but she just made a gesture agreeing with Rey. “As I said, I was tortured and then Snoke ordered Ben to kill me. Ben took his saber, but only used it to distract Snoke’s mind games, while simultaneously using my saber to literally bisect Snoke. Ben killed Snoke, then we fought the guard and won. Ben wanted me to join him – he told me something about killing his past and creating a new galaxy, but I refused. I used the force to take my saber from him, but he held onto it. It exploded. We got unconscious. I woke up first and fled.” The last part rushed out of Rey; the pain caused by Ben’s betrayal was still too fresh.

“I kept the bond closed until tonight. Tonight, I needed to yell at him. He betrayed me when he should have turned to the light. He killed Snoke but then didn’t join me. Instead, he chased you and forced Luke to intervene. But it went different from what I expected. Something was… something is wrong.” Rey shuddered at the memory. “The person on the other side wasn’t Ben and he wasn’t Kylo.”

“Who was it,” Poe asked. Everyone stared at her, waiting for her reveal. Rey backtracked her statement. “Well it was him, at least it was his body and when he talked, it was his voice. But he almost didn’t notice me, I think he thought I was a ghost, some hallucination of his mind. I can’t describe how he acted. It was like he was mad.” Rey had her eyes downcast; her voice had gone desperate; she didn’t know how to convey what Ben had been like. She had no words for it.

“Leia…” the murmured word escaped her mouth. “I don’t know if he will ever be Ben again. He was so far gone. Only for a short moment, he seemed to recognize me, but he constantly wanted to ‘kill it’. I don’t know what he was talking about. And… And he blamed the Force. He blamed it for Snoke getting to him, for Luke…” Rey interrupted herself. “He blamed it for everything, but he can’t kill the Force - that’s impossible. He also said the time for the Sith, the Jedi, the First Order, and the Resistance is over. Maybe that was what he meant. Not ‘Kill it’ but ‘Kill them. Kill us’?”

Silence fell over the group. Poe was the first one who dared to speak again. “I am sorry, General, but the situation seems extremely grave. Before tonight we could at least somewhat anticipate how the First Order would act, but now… Kylo Ren appears to be completely unhinged.” Leia regarded him sadly. “You don’t have to apologize, Poe.” She sighed and leaned back against Chewie. “I think I’ll need some time. We’ll reconvene after we all got some sleep. We will inform the others and together we may find a suitable plan for the future. We… I… There is still hope. There must be.” The last sentence sounded more like a murmur, an affirmation more meant for herself, than the others.

With nods, they all said goodbye and left to their respective cots to get some sleep. They needed strength, a rested mind, and all their wits if they wanted to survive what the future had in stock for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be here next week!


	3. My Heart Is Torn To Shreds / All I Hear Is Whispers Of Dread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His meeting with Rey, their force-bonds, as well their fight in the throne-room - with and against each other - and his visit on Crait are weighing heavily on Ben. And on top of everything he is the Supreme Leader of the First Order now - how will he handle this onslaught of emotions, duties, and memories?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting our first look at Ben's PoV this week. Let's see what he was up to?
> 
> The title of this weeks chapter is from the poem 'It's All In My Head' by @CreoZoe_Ink

Ben couldn’t recollect how long he had kneeled on the floor of the old Rebel base on Crait. His mind had since been in turmoil, emotions, and thoughts swirling around, crossing into each other. He had tried to regain his focus since the moment he awoke inside the throne room, seeing Hux standing above him – sensing his intention to kill.

Rey was gone. And the Resistance had somehow gotten onto Crait – so Ben followed. It made sense to him – to follow the Resistance. That was where Rey would be. Following her had always made sense, his raddled mind supplemented. He had let Hux prepare the invasion, while he himself tried to focus on what he had to. He was the Supreme Leader now and he needed to decide.

All the previous structures that had encased but also led him were gone now and nothing remained in their place, instead he needed to take on responsibility now. No more Snoke who made decisions, no more Snoke, who moved around the people below him, no more Snoke, who protected him from others in the First Order.

Ben had been stuck in a haze during the First Order’s descent onto Crait – furious anger rising inside him with every passing minute. Seeing the Millennium Falcon on the battlefield prompted his first outburst. That ship needed to die. Whatever the cost was, its time was long over. A remnant of the past. He needed to kill it.

Then Luke stepped out of the wreckage of the old Rebel base. Luke, who he hadn’t seen since that fatal night. Ben’s already tortured mind continued to fracture. Fear was spreading in him. Luke would kill him, he was here to kill him. Luke would finish, what he had attempted that night. Ben would be murdered by his uncle. Frantically he shouted for all the cannons to fire on this small man, his uncle, who had betrayed him.

Some part of his mind had told him, that this wouldn’t work. Luke was smarter than to step into this kind of danger. Something else was going on. Therefore, Ben was ready to personally meet his uncle on the battlefield, when the cannons proved to be unsuccessful. But Luke had been even smarter than Ben had anticipated: Buying the Resistance time without even being physically present on the planet.

And the things Luke had told him. That he had failed him, that he would see Ben around, that the Jedi would survive. Ben hadn’t known what to say. Everything had been too much. He had sworn to kill Rey. What else should – what else could he have said in this situation? Ben shook his head, trying to concentrate on his memories again.

When they had entered the base, he had been drawn to the room on the left and he had been glad, that the Stormtroopers had left him alone. He had kneeled to pick up the shiny, golden dices lying on the ground. Then he had looked up to see Rey standing above him with a strange expression on her face and suddenly the bond closed between them – though it was different from the other times. As if it was closed voluntarily – and more finally. As if there was something between them now, preventing them from connecting. Ben had wanted to hold onto the dices – the only things tethering him to the present, to reality. Wanting to close his hand, the dices had disappeared into nothing and chaos had broken out in his head.

It was so loud. Ben couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t function. He had needed to get back to his ship. He had needed to be alone, finding something to focus on. He had felt himself falling and falling and falling – fearing the impact with the ground.

* * *

Ben could barely recognize the passing of time. He didn’t know how he was handling his responsibilities or if he was handling them at all. He was so lost in himself, Ben didn’t know if he noticed it the first time it happened. But a few days after Crait – how many were unimportant to him, something changed.

He had gotten used to wandering through the halls – moving around helped him a little bit. As he was getting closer to a pair of stormtroopers guarding a room, he saw a third person standing next to him. Smaller than the two and not dressed in their armor nor any other uniform, that was used in the First Order. No, the young woman silently standing there and looking at him, wore the same outfit Rey had worn, when she had come to him on the Supremacy.

Ben didn’t dare to move and slowly his mind got around to the fact, that Rey seemed to stand a few feet away from him. The stormtrooper were getting twitchy, because of the unusual behavior of their Supreme Leader. The word had spread, that Kylo Ren was more unbalanced than ever, but his motionlessness was more unsettling than his usual outbursts of anger.

Working at top speed, Ben’s mind tried to decipher what was happening, but he couldn’t focus – there was too much going on in his head. Emotions and opinions about Rey swirling around, clouding his vision. He tried to reach out with his mind, if their bond may have reopened. With great effort, he could deduct, that it was still closed. But Rey was still standing there, looking at him.

In the last days, Ben had lost any regard to upholding his reputation or at least instating some respect in his subordinates, that went beyond fear of him. He couldn’t care less what random stormtroopers would think of him for Ben was too occupied with what was happening inside his mind. So he simply started to speak to Rey’s apparition – in the last minutes Ben had gotten to the point, where he thought that it must be some kind of manifestation only he could see because the stormtrooper didn’t react to the person standing right next to them.

“Hello, Rey,” Ben greeted her. The stormtroopers quickly turned around, expecting to see someone standing behind them, but there was nothing only thin air. Questioningly they looked at each other, trying to understand what was happening. “Why have you visited me?” Ben continued. But Rey still wasn’t speaking. That fact was jumping around in his mind, weakening the resolve, that Ben had achieved in the last minute. His emotion getting control over him again. “You foul spirit. Have you come to haunt me?” He sneered at her.

“Do you think me weak? That I will fall apart because you betrayed me?” Ben’s voice grew in volume. Objects around him began to shake and fear-filled both stormtroopers standing in front of him. They hoped if they didn’t move, maybe Kylo Ren would forget about them.

“You are the weak one. You couldn’t let go of your past. You hold onto it. We could have it all. A new order for the galaxy. But no – you left me, like everyone else. Run back to the Resistance. Worms are you – nothing more. Parasites feasting on this galaxy. You have to be exterminated. You have to be killed.” Yelling unintelligible Ben used the force to try to push Rey away, but her apparition just vanished. Only the stormtroopers were affected and knocked back. With a scoff, Ben resumed his way through his ship.

* * *

He did his best to ignore Rey in the following days, but it got more and more complicated when she wasn’t the only one who appeared to him. The first time Han rounded a corner, that Ben was approaching and stood in front of him, Ben turned around and ran away. The first time Leia sat on a chair in an empty room, that Ben was entering, he broke down and cried. The first time Luke stood above him, as Ben woke up, he screamed and trashed his room. 

The voices in his head got louder and louder. In there it was too loud and too silent at the same time. Where Snoke’s voice should have been was nothing, and where only his own voice should have been was everyone else’s. Luke. Han. Leia. Rey. Chewbacca. Lando. Tai. Hux. Other voices he didn’t know. Voices of himself. Everyone was speaking, everyone was feeling, everyone was pushing against him. Ben couldn’t bear it, anymore.

Most of the voices were leaving for random periods of time. The volume in- and decreasing constantly. Only one thing was always repeating, one voice was never leaving him: his speech to Rey in the throne room. He was perpetually hearing himself talking about how the time of the Sith and Jedi was over, the time of the First Order, and the Resistance being over. ‘Kill the past. Kill it.’ looping and looping and looping. Constantly these few phrases returned and returned and returned. Never stopping. It was torture.

The short burst in which Ben regained full clarity, he tried to discern what was happening to him, but he was unsuccessful. Everyone around him was acting normal – only inside his head was turmoil and chaos. Ben didn’t know how to handle this situation. He wasn’t getting enough sleep. He barely remembered to eat and drink. And constantly he encountered his family or Rey.

* * *

Ben was tormented. Tormented by his lack of sleep, by the voices in his head, by his loneliness, by the apparitions never leaving him. He lost the ability to discern between people really being there and people only appearing to him. In the beginning, he had some form of control, because his hallucinations never spoke to him. But as that changed, he had also lost that last measure of tethering himself to reality.

His mother – or at least the thing that looked like his mother and could only be seen by him – spoke to Ben first. As always, she just sat on a chair in a random room he was entering. Ben had gotten more used to them. He wasn’t yelling at them anymore, just greeted them – it seemed impolite to ignore them, Ben’s mind had reasoned – and sometimes spoke to them about anything that went on in his head at that moment. He was talking to himself anyway, at least he had someone who seemed to listen, every time they appeared to him.

The determined “Hello.” with which his mother greeted him that day, let Ben step back a few steps. He blinked at the small women looking at him. She couldn’t have said anything, that is impossible, Ben thought to himself. “What are you doing, Ben? Why are you doing this?” Leia spoke again. Thoughts began to race through Ben’s head, but he still couldn’t answer. “So much pain, Ben. So much pain. It has to stop.” Leia stared at him.

All strength left Ben’s body and he plummeted to the ground. His breath was quickening and at the same time, no air got into his lungs. Fear seemed to fill them instead. “This war has gone on for too long. This pain is too much. You are in pain. You have caused pain. Where is the end, Ben? How can it end?” Leia was standing up from her chair. And moved towards him. Tears were streaming down Ben’s face. His mind was in shambles, while he was trying to understand his mother’s words despite the noise and chaos inside his head.

“You can end it, Ben. You have to end it. There is too much pain already, Ben. Stop it now.” Then Leia left and Ben toppled over. Shaking he lied on the ground. His mother’s words ringing in his ear. Too much pain. Ending it. You have caused pain. You are in pain. When will it end? You can end it. You have to end it. Leia’s words were joining his own speech to Rey. They mixed and became inextricable.

* * *

Mitaka was the one, who found Kylo Ren lying trembling on the ground in a random conference room. He thought about leaving him there, but the retribution, because leaving the Supreme Leader in this position seemed graver, than the risk of approaching him.

Like everyone else, Mitaka knew, that Kylo Ren was more unstable than ever. Quivering he hooked an arm under the shoulder of the giant man dressed in black and used his whole strength to pull him up. With a little support from Kylo Ren, Mitaka managed to sit him on a chair and as he wanted to leave, he realized that his superior was talking.

“We have caused so much pain. I have caused so much pain. Need to end it. Need to end it. When will it end? So much pain. Time is over. Have to kill it. Resistance… First Order is over. Jedi… Have to end it. Stop it. New order of the galaxy. Time of the Resistance... Resistance… Has to end it. Has to end it now.” With big eyes Mitaka ran away, trying to decipher the meaning of Kylo Ren’s words.

Mitaka had always regretted having joined the First Order, but there hadn’t been many alternatives. He knew the pain they brought. He had experienced some of it himself. Was the Supreme Leader saying, that the First Order was over? And the Resistance had to end the war – together with their Jedi? Mitaka had long dreamed of leaving the First Order – if what the Supreme Leader was saying was true, maybe he could find a new purpose. A purpose, Mitaka could be proud of.

* * *

Now that his ghosts talked to him, Ben did never know if someone was really there or just in his head. During the few times he encountered Hux, Ben was never sure if the general was really present or not, so he decided to play it safe and always ordered Hux to handle things because he was busy.

Ben had lost any regard for personal safety, he had lost any shame, he had lost much of his reputation. He was trapped in his own mind, bound to repeat and repeat conversations with the people that had hurt him, desperately searching for a way out of his own head, away from all the noise and chaos.

His eyes showed everyone his current state of mind, he continued to talk to himself or imaginary people – at least that was what others thought. While outwardly he appeared broken, some small part of his mind fought fiercely to regain some measure of control. It continued to seek the cause of his problems. A common denominator. Some defect, that could be repaired. Some flaw, that could be overcome. Some reason for all this. Something that he could cut out, so everything would stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will continue Ben's story next week - and there we will see the force bond of the first chapter out of his perspective.


	4. I Learned The Voices Died With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see, what happened with Ben shortly before, during, and after the force connected him with Rey. What exactly did happen to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's chapter title is from the song 'Arsonist's Lullabye' by Hozier.
> 
> I had a rough few days, and had no time to write any chapters and don't know if I'll find any time to write this week, but I have enough chapters already finished, that I should be able to stick to my schedule.

Ben’s days amounted to an indistinguishable string of breakdowns, encounters with his hallucinations, and trying to find a way into the future. He wished his past would just disappear, then he wouldn’t be as haunted as he was. He wished Snoke would never have been in his head. He wished Darth Vader’s and Luke’s legacy would never have dominated his life. He wished he wouldn’t have lost Rey.

There was one constant for every misery in his life, Ben thought: The force. If he hadn’t been force-sensitive nothing bad would have happened to him. His parents never would have sent him away. Snoke never would have been interested in him. Luke would never have tried to kill him. He would never have murdered his father. He would never have met and subsequently lost Rey.

The Force had to go Ben decided – well not the force itself, but his connection to it… He just had to find a way to do it. Ben continued to talk to his family and Rey, who were constantly appearing to him – counseling with them on how to relinquish his force-sensitivity. They didn’t give him any real advice, but it helped Ben to have someone to talk to. Ben didn’t mind anymore what others thought of him when he talked to into empty air while wandering through the ship’s hallways.

Waiting at every corner for Han to appear, Ben walked through the ship’s hallways. Today his mind wanted him to search for his father. Everything in him pushed for his presence. Ben forgot to focus on his surroundings and nearly walked into the apparition of the old smuggler.

“Dad,” Ben greeted him. His father sometimes looked like he had, when Ben was sent away. Other times he appeared as he had on Starkiller Base. Today it was the latter. “There is still hope, kid,” the ghost told him. “Not much hope for you, dad. I ensured that.” Sadness lingered in Ben’s voice. “It’s not too late. Leave here.” His father touched him, and Ben went completely still. It was the first time one of them had touched him. His father’s hand caressed his face as he had moments before Ben had killed him.

“I wish I would never have had the force, dad,” Ben whispered. His father looked him straight in the eyes. “Ben! Take it off. You don’t need it.” Tears were forming in Ben’s eyes. The noise in his head got louder again. “I’m trying, dad, I’m trying.” Vanishing Han whispered a few final words. “I believe in you, Ben. You can do it.”

Quickly Ben searched for the next empty room, luckily this time his mother wasn’t waiting for him there – Ben probably would have turned around on the instant should that have been the case, the voices in his head were excruciating enough, he didn’t need a ghost to appear in front of him on top of them. He sank into one of the chairs standing in the room. He needed to find a way to lose his connection to the force. He wouldn’t survive it if he had to endure the voices and the apparitions and all the pain his force-sensitivity brought him for the foreseeable future.

Ben didn’t dare to think about the possibility, that everything would stay the same, even if he should cut himself off from such an integral part of himself. It couldn’t stay the same. Either with him disconnecting from the force, the voices would disappear or he would suffer to much pain for a human mind to handle. His body probably would keep on functioning, but his self would evaporate.

* * *

One evening, while Ben was once again trying to quiet down the voices in his head – the effort weakening him so severely, that he fell to the floor – Rey appeared to him. That was unusual. Normally he had to search for her. She would appear in the vicinity of stormtroopers standing in a random hallway – Ben didn’t know why his brain decided that that should be a rule, he just accepted it, without questioning it.

As usual, he began to voice his thoughts out loud. He always did, when she was there, so she could listen to him – or he could pretend as if she would listen and he didn’t just talk to a hallucination his mind had made up. Sometimes she would even chime in.

This time was different, though. Ben needed a bit to realize it – the place in his mind, that was leading nowhere against something like a concrete wall – but what felt like the exterior of the Falcon – was open now.

For the first time, since they had fought together, clarity was flooding Ben. The voices weren’t gone, they were as loud and chaotic as always, but the bond had opened up behind everything that was crowding his mind. Suddenly there was room in him, a room he hadn’t considered before. Against the chaos in him, Ben searched a way to separate himself from everything that was tormenting him. Through speaking out loud the words that were screaming in his head and walking back and forth to expel the energy crowding his mind, he sorted through everything he could find.

He stretched himself into their bond, overloading it through trying to press all his connections to the force, all the memories connected to it, into the place, where their bond was open. When he was sure he had achieved, what he tried to do, he stopped reaching out with the force. Internally he leaned away from it.

For a short moment, his mind quieted down. He could focus again. His eyes found Rey. Ben didn’t know what would happen if he attempted to separate himself right now, but he had to do it. Every connection to Rey, every memory of her was in that space, that he tried to remove from himself. Sorrow surged through him. Rey had betrayed him, hadn’t joined him, had chosen others over him, but he still felt connected to her, she had reached out to him, there had been _something_ between them, they together were something special. He did the only thing that seemed right to him. He said goodbye.

Then he pulled himself away, while simultaneously pushing against the bond. He imagined his lightsaber cutting through his connection to her. He ripped that part of him away. He envisioned a forceless veil and pulled it like a blanket around him, covering him completely.

Pain erupted inside him. Writhing Ben fell to the ground. And kept lying there.

* * *

After he regained consciousness, he noticed the changes inside his mind. Instead of the crowding thoughts that had screamed to him, nothingness and disconnectedness were filling him. Silence. Vacuum. At the same time oppressive and freeing. He walked through the corridors of his mind. Where memories and connection to everything around him had been, nothing had remained. Emptiness reigned in him.

Ben tried to discern his feeling about his new state. But they were dull, hollowed, flimsy. They didn’t affect him. They were quiet, easily ignorable. It would be better this way, Ben decided. This way he could control them easily – something he had always longed for, but never possessed. This horrendous act, his separation of this deep, integral part of him, had finally given him the thing he had longed for since he had been a small child.

The longer Ben looked inward, he noticed, that there were still things in it. Everything he had shut out, wasn’t totally gone. He hadn’t forgotten about his past. His memories weren’t completely lost. But they were in the background. They weren’t imposing themselves on him when he didn’t want them to.

The loudest thoughts remaining were the few words of his speech to Rey, but it was more the truth lying in them – a truth he had long known: The time of the Sith and the Jedi was over. The time of the Resistance was over. A new Galaxy was needed. Without the First Order. No war should ravage the people of the galaxy. No children should be abandoned because their parents were killed. No child should be stolen from its parents. The war needed to be killed. This – his – violent past, that was haunting an entire galaxy – haunting him –, needed to be killed.

* * *

Ben grabbed his saber and filled a bag with a few essentials – all of the credits, he had stashed in his room; rations and everything else he deemed necessary –, determination filling him. In the last weeks, he hadn’t worn Kylo Ren’s usual attire, anymore. The black cape and protective long sleeve were gone, instead Ben had worn an easier and far more comfortable combination of black pants and a light black sweater.

He knew what he had to do. He knew that he would do it. There was no other way. He had his goal and he would achieve it. Nothing would stop him. That was his mission. That was his destiny. Not filling his grandfather's shoes. Nor his uncles or his mothers. No, he was supposed to end it all. They had all been wrong. He was the son of a scoundrel and smuggler. The son of a princess, general, and politician. The nephew and namesake of Jedis. The grandson of a Sith. He possessed everything in him, that he needed to herald the beginning of a new galaxy. And now he had control over himself.

Everyone had wanted him to build their future. Everyone had wanted him to obey their old rules. But that wasn’t what he had wanted. He had been wrong. Supreme Leader should have never been his title to take. That was not what he wanted. Not a new order. Not installing himself as to its ruler. Instead, he would be a dark protector destroying the ghosts, that were haunting and terrorizing it. Free of legacy, of mind-controlling evils he would find his own place. Ben would ignite a light, a fire so bright, it would burn away the curse of this galaxy and herald the start of a new time of peace.

After the last remnant of war and violence would have been burned down, he would find a small place, somewhere green. He would settle down. Bothered by no one. He would read books, write, attend his garden. He would be just Ben – connected and bound to nothing and no one.

* * *

On the way to the hangar, he passed the energy cells of the Finalizer, his flagship. He approached the mechanics controlling them. It was easy to scare them away and destroying the control terminal. Hopefully, it would destroy the cells, forcing them to overload and subsequently explode. It would rip the ship apart after he would have left it. Ben thought about the casualties. But the crew on his ship should be handpicked, everyone loyal supporter of the First Order. The war would never be won without casualties. The people on this ship wanted to fight in this war, they were excellent, they knew in what they were involved, they knew the risks. It was no difficult decision to blow it up.

As Ben got to the hangar and boarded his TIE Silencer – it had a cloaking technology, that would hide him from the First Order should they try to follow him – and Ben wondered if Hux was still on his ship. It would be perfect if one of his strongest enemies would already die at the beginning of his mission. It would make his task much easier. But without the Force, there was no way for Ben to check. So, he started his ship and left the hangar, without looking back.

* * *

In the short moment before he entered hyperspace a jolt went through his ship – the blast of the explosion had reached him. Then the familiar blue and white welcomed him and Ben left the First Order behind him.

Ben remembered that he was still without any meaningful plan – besides destroying everyone who wages war against the people of the galaxy and especially everyone using the force to do it. He urgently needed to have at least some sense of where he wanted to head. There had to be other people who had the same goal as him. Surely, he wasn’t the only one sick of the war, sick of the force complicating the lives of people who just wanted peace and simplicity?

He wondered what the best planet would be for the start of his search – right now he was on course for Cantonica. Canto Bight was a popular destination for the First Order and one of the first places popping up in his navigational system, but he definitely shouldn’t go there. He would be alone against a whole city of weapons dealer and other war profiteers, not to mention local law enforcement, the danger of being recognized was too high. As Kylo Ren he had worn his mask almost every time, but people still recognized him without it. Some day he would attack the city and its visitors, but now wasn’t the right time. He needed allies first.

Ben tried to access his memories of galactic history, thinking of which place would be the best to find this kind of people. He didn’t want to get closer to the center and should start in the outer Rim. Tatooine was the planet he finally decided on – certainly no happy place for anyone. Too much war, too much crime, too much death had happened there. It should be a good place to start his mission. He put his new destination into his navigation system and decided to land in the spaceport at Mos Espa. That settlement should be big enough to find someone who could help him along.

And Tattoine had the advantage of being close to Naboo. Ben had always felt a special connection to that planet. It was known as one of the more peace-loving ones – even if it had suffered often and a lot. Very different people who had influenced the galaxy in significant ways had come from Naboo. There was talk about unrest against the war on Naboo. The First Order’s intel had indicated, that its tendency leaned against the First Order, but Ben thought, that maybe the sentiment could be pushed in unrest against the war in general.

* * *

As Ben got closer to Tatooine his plan took more and more shape. It was refreshing to be in full control of his mind again. The last weeks had been the height of years, where he had never been alone in there. Ben knew what he needed – Allies, resources, intel –, he knew what was first on his list to attack – local criminals to establish some kind of reputation –, and he needed to obscure his identity – most important he needed to think about his name. The last problem was something he could solve right now, the others were more complicated.

Ben knew he would never stop being Ben Solo – that was who he had been from the beginning and who he never would stop being (at least on some level). Kylo Ren would also always stay with him. Kylo Ren had helped him survive the last years. Kylo Ren had grown out of some parts of Ben Solo. Kylo Ren could never fully be separated from Ben Solo. But Kylo Ren had been some mixture of mask and impersonation, this time Ben wanted to free himself from everything. He had freed his mind, now he needed free his name.

Ben’s mission would be to protect the ones, who couldn’t protect themselves. His name should reflect that. As a child, he read many tales and myths, in his youth, and during his apprenticeship under Snoke, he had encountered many languages. Surely somewhere he could find a suitable name for himself. A name chosen freely not given to him. A name that was free of his past, of his mistakes, of his memories.

He thought back to how he named his first ship after an alderaanian myth his mother had told him – Grimtaash. Ben stocked for a moment. This memory shouldn’t have surfaced, not after everything he had done to hide them away. A sharp pain of missing and longing crossed through him, but then he had himself under control again and forcefully moved his mind into other directions. He thought about a poem he had once read in Luke’s academy. In the night, when he had practiced his calligraphy by transcribing poems, he had encountered many in rare languages. One had been especially important to him. It had been a poem about shields and protection. Magen – that was the word it had been called. It described a big piece of armor or someone/something that protected others.

Magen would be a fitting name. Ben had protected himself and he wanted to protect others. The name had no connection to anything in his past. A strange feeling erupted in his stomach at the thought of losing another connection to his old self, but Ben ignored it. And continued his path to Tatooine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week we will come back to the Resistance Base and the plot will thicken when some new characters are introduced and the stakes will rise.


	5. Maybe It’s All Gonna Turn Out Alright | And I Know That It’s Not, But I Have To Believe That It Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance plans their future, but their meeting is interrupted because of an announcement by the new Supreme Leader, who has a grand vision for the Galaxy. Across and beyond it, new characters bring themselves into the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's chapter title is from Julien Baker's song 'Appointments'.

The entire Resistance – which still wasn’t that many people – would meet in the afternoon, but beforehand a small group – composed of Leia, Poe, Rey, Chewie, Rose, Finn and Kaydel – would discuss how to best inform the others of the events of last night and which way would be the most successful to plan their future.

Poe and Finn brought Kaydel up to speed on everything they knew about Kylo Ren, respectively Ben Solo. She processed it better than they had feared and soon they all gathered around a small table to discuss how to tell everyone else about the situation. Because of Leia could be seen as impartial – even though everyone in the Resistance respected her – they decided Poe should tell the little news they had about Kylo Ren.

They decided to use the upcoming meeting as a chance to further establish Poe as one of their leaders beside Leia, and Poe could prove, that he could calm the small group down even though he wasn’t bringing good news. He wouldn’t even bring them much news. That meeting would primarily focus on reassuring everyone after they had witnessed last night's events and to discuss their plan for the future together.

The seven people also organized a priority list of resources, which they had to get, and allies, who they wanted to contact. Together with the others they would assign tasks and maybe fill some gaps or rearrange certain items on that list. But all in all, it was a productive meeting and a sliver of hope grew in their empty and exhausted souls.

* * *

The weather was humid and the sun stood high up in the sky when everyone arrived at their meeting. The few people that were left to the Resistance formed a half-circle in front of Leia’s tent and waited for someone to start speaking. Their facial expressions gave away their concern and anxiety. Poe did a good job trying to hide his nervosity, but Rey could still feel it through the Force.

To say, that the others swallowed the news easily, would have been a lie. It wasn’t easy to accept, that the new Supreme Leader was the son of their general or that he was the one who killed the former one. Frustration grew upon realizing the lack of intel the Resistance had at this point. They had much to rebuild until they would be as strong as they had been again. And even more time would pass until they could defeat the First Order.

The uncertainty after last night had been frightening, but Poe’s confident charisma brought confidence back into the group and everyone could agree, that they needed to regain their strength as fast as possible. Everyone chipped in with connections they had or planets they knew, where allies could probably be acquired.

As they were all in discussions of engaging in preparation and organization of their nearby future, Kaydel suddenly yelled at them to shut up. “There will be an official address from the First Order on the Holonet in a few minutes – concerning the events of the last few days. Maybe we will get some information about Kylo Ren.” The words were rushing out of her mouth. The Resistance's hard-gained focus was waning again. It seemed as they couldn’t get a day to breathe but instead were always a step behind the events unfolding in the galaxy.

Getting some sleep and having time to reinstate her composure, Leia didn’t react visible to the mention of her son, though she decided to warn the crowd in front of her. “Calm down everyone. Maybe it is just an unimportant announcement. We don’t know yet, but please remember everything the First Order will say, can be a lie. They will - very likely - sprout half-truths and misconstructions. Please be aware, that we can’t believe anything they say, without validating it ourselves.” An affirmative murmur went through the crowd.

No one dared to speak loudly, everyone waited for the transmission to begin. Concern and anxiety were oppressively weighing down on them. Then music rang out from the holoprojector and the image of a First Order Spokesperson appeared. “Fellow Galactic Citizen. Today the First Order will make important steps into the future. The new Supreme Leader himself will address what happened during the last few days, and what that means for the First Order and for all the fine people waiting for order to be restituted to their planets, to their homes.” Then she left the lectern. Next to Rey, Poe quietly grumbled. “Well, let’s take a look at that new Supreme Leader.”

A gasp went through the crowd, when not the expected big figure dressed in black stepped forward. Instead, the familiar face of General Hux was clearly recognizable. “My fellow citizen, in the last days the First Order has experienced much change and had to endure several, cowardly attacks. First the force-user Kylo Ren, and left hand of former Supreme Leader Snoke, allied with the devious Resistance to kill Supreme Leader Snoke and deal as much damage as possible to the biggest ship of the First Order. Then he had the audacity to use the power vacuum, which he had created and appointed himself as Supreme Leader using the Force to defend his unlawful ascend only to blow up his new flagship yesterday, again dealing grave damage to the First Order, while causing the death of many innocent and fine people."

At this point, Hux paused and let his words work on his audience. Hands clasped behind his back, he had perfected the image of the confident, regal, and secure general, that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. There was no uncertainty in his voice or his appearance as if the words he had just spoken - of the damages done to the First Order - wouldn't affect them in any meaningful way. After a few moments of silence, he continued, his face getting gradually angrier and redder.

"For years lies and slander have been told about us. You think of us as this big, dangerous, and dark entity threatening you all when we merely want to protect you from chaos, lawlessness, and wide-spread crime. These were always our goals, but the New Republic and their media told you lies about us, only because we did what was necessary. The First Order is the only power that has the willpower, capabilities, and resources to achieve these goals. But a new danger has arisen on the horizon: Force-Users. We, at the First Order, know of the dangerousness of people like Kylo Ren. He terrorized our own people, he tortured and viciously murdered them. Imagine what he will do to you.

For the ones who were so lucky to never have encountered such an individual or even never heard of the force, let me inform you. These people have the power to control your minds, to move your body against your will, to freeze laser bolts mid-air, and much more. If you don’t believe us, ask your elders. They will tell you tales about the Jedi. An order of Force-users responsible for starting the war, that has terrorized us all for the last decades. And for the ones still not believing us: We will publish several security videos, where you can see the power, that Kylo Ren wields. But beware, he is not the only one capable of such evil acts. The Resistance has a young girl, who joined forces with Kylo Ren to kill our former Supreme Leader. She is as powerful as he is. The Resistance wants to reestablish the wicked Jedi order, that is their goal.

They wanted to use Luke Skywalker to achieve that. A man so powerful, he would be nearly unstoppable, should he choose to seize power. These Force-users have the potential to destroy everyone around them when they fight each other. We need to protect us against them! But who is powerful enough to do this? The New Republic was weak and wouldn’t have done anything against these force users, this is the reason they were destroyed. The Resistance allied with the force users, they will do nothing to protect you. We, the First Order, are your only hope. I, as the new Supreme Leader, promise you, that we will do everything in our power to control these individuals. But the First Order needs your help. We are your only chance at survival and order. We are without alternative. Join forces with us and we will bring order back to the galaxy. Help us, be the shield, that protects you from vicious attacks. Help us, be the sword, that will stand between you and disorder. Help us, be the power, that will stabilize this galaxy. Stand with us, or join the forces of chaos and evil. The choice is yours.” A second later Hux vanished and in his place appeared a menu to access the mentioned security videos, as well as more information about Force-users and information about the First Order.

Silence laid itself over the small crowd. No one knew what to say. Poe and Leia looked at each other, and with a deep sigh, the older woman stepped forward. “That… was a lot. It seems, that Kylo Ren is no longer Supreme Leader or affiliated with the First Order, which definitely isn’t a bad thing for us." At this point, Leia stopped. Everyone could see her worrying. She looked into the faces staring at her and searched for the right words to say to them. Finally, she found them. "However, their new agenda against force-users in general and the Jedi especially could make our lives much more complicated. But let me assure you, that we will not cower in front of these bullies, we will not give up. The force is with us – not with the First Order. And we will not lose.

If Kylo Ren would be on our side - as they say -, our task would certainly be easier. Sadly, his cooperation with Rey lasted only a few minutes.” With a deep sigh, Leia looked around and observed the faces of the people around her, their reactions, their emotions. Leia knew how to read people and she tried to tell them, what they needed to hear. “I can assure you, that Hux told a lot of lies about the force. Yes, Rey and others like her are people with great capabilities, but this cannot be a reason for us to hunt them. It is not their fault, that they have this talent, and if they use the force for good things, then it will improve all our lives. We need to join forces, work together, and not fight between ourselves. That would be the path, that leads to the First Order's victory”

Rey stepped next to her. She suspected, that there were still concerns about the Jedi Order. There always had been legends concerning them and after decades of war, almost no one knew what was true and what wasn’t. She decided to relay the information, that Luke had given her. “If you have concerns about the Jedi Order, then listen to me: Luke spoke to me about them. He had no wish to simply reinstate them in their former form. He knew of their failures. He had told me, that they were faulty, but the alternative can't be, that we hunt and kill them. Instead, we should find a new way to train Force-sensitive people. I think if we all come together, we can find a good way forward, that doesn’t involve a war against people, who aren’t responsible for their force-sensitivity, but instead will lead to a better future for us all.”

Leia took over from her again. “It is absurd to hunt people because they have a certain ability. There will always be people, who can easily influence others, either because of their appearance or because they trained to speak a certain way. But we wouldn’t kill them simply because of these learned or innate talents. There will always be people, who are stronger than others. But we don’t kill people, just because they have more muscles than others. It is not about what we can do, that determines if we are worthy enough to live, but how we use what we can do. Snoke didn’t use his abilities to create order, he wanted to dominate the galaxy. He used his talents to manipulate and to control people, to turn us against each other, to turn brother against sister, son against father. Now is not the time to give up hope. Now is the time to stand closer together, to rally up against the First Order. Their order is darkness. Their safety is a cage. Their promises are evil. We cannot let them win. We will not let them win. We have yet too loose. And loosing is not what we do. The light will win. It always does.”

* * *

Across the galaxy, on an unnamed planet, a small group of black-clad figures had gathered around a small holo-screen, positioned in the middle of a dark room. As Hux disappeared, all continued to stare at the point, where his hologram had stood. The last one of them had arrived yesterday, after the fall of their master’s mentor, they had messaged each other in secrecy, agreeing to meet to discuss which way, they would move forward. “What do we do now?” a deep voice asked, but it took a long time until he got an answer. To convoluted was their situation, too risky each possible path, for any of them to propose a plan without much thought.

A smaller figure took a step forward. She looked at the masked faces of the five others. “We will not stand by while this scum attacks force-sensitives or hunts for force-artifacts. They are all ours – he has no right to step into our territory.” Agreeing muttering resounded in the room. Another one moved next to the smaller figure. “We follow the Ren. We take what we want. We follow the dark side – and if Hux wants to get in our way, then so be it and we will remove him.”

The smaller Knight of Ren continued. “We should begin to look into Kylo Ren’s disappearance. We could use him. We don’t need him, but he is the Master of Ren and his power would be helpful.” She turned to the Knight who had spoken first to ask, what they would do now. “Carush, can you track his signature?” Carush nodded.

The others waited, while Carush reached out with the force. After minutes had passed, but nothing had happened, the others got restless, then Carush shook his head. “He is gone. I can’t sense his signature anywhere. There is nothing of him left, that I can trace.”

Ap’do – the knight standing next to the smaller one – sighed. “Then we will have to revert to more traditional methods. We will reach out to contacts, keep all our ears, eyes, and other senses open until we find him. We are the Knights of Ren and Kylo Ren is our master.”

With these final words, the group left the room to get to their ship Night Buzzard – a grey, modified Oubliette-class transport. Korkork started their heavily armed ship and the Knights of Ren began their search for their master.

* * *

Beyond everything a dialogue occurs.

“I can’t reach him anymore, Father. He didn’t recognize me and now something prevents me from appearing to him again.”

“No, it can’t be. Snoke put a barrier between him and me, but Snoke is dead.”

“Maybe you should try it. Maybe you can reach him.”

“He won’t recognize me.”

“Just try it.”

Some time passed.

“I have the same problem as you, my son. Both this blockade is different from Snoke’s.”

“We need help, father. We should ask Ben.”

“Let’s see if Obi-Wan is willing to help us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the nice comments you wrote. I really enjoy how the story is developing and am excited about the upcoming chapters.


	6. You Know That I Can See The Future Gonna Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben arrives on Tatooine and searches for allies - which isn't easy, especially if the First Order begins to look for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's title is from Neoni's song 'Never Say Die'.
> 
> I am introducing the first true Original Characters in this chapter (the other half-original ones were my version of the Knights of Ren), but they are still tied to other canon characters or groups. You'll see...
> 
> P.S: Remember, Ben choose a new name for himself.

Ben landed his custom ship on the planet surface. He either had to quickly leave this planet again or had to lose his ship. Even if the First Order couldn’t track his TIE Silencer, someone could recognize it and alert them. He was sure, that there was a bounty on him – taking unnecessary risks could cost him his life.

As Ben stepped outside, he was greeted by the beige tone that was typical in Tatooine. It was late afternoon, so he wouldn’t have to wait long until he could find someone who could help him or people, who would join him. He knew, that he had to make sure not to trust people too easily, there was the chance, that they would betray him – either for money or out of other reasons. And certainly, no one could know, that he was Kylo Ren – therefore he hid his saber beneath his clothes. He would only use it as a last resort.

Mon Espa was buzzing with activity. Ben paid the spaceport master the charge to use one parking lot for a day. He didn’t intend to use it longer than that – either he would sell his ship or had left Tatooine already by then.

His first stop was the market to stock up on a few essential things – clothing, something to eat and drink as well as a blaster. His father had always favored them over weapons like a lightsaber. Ben expected guilt or similar feelings at this random thought of his father, but nothing happened. His detachment from the force and parts of himself was still intact and numbed his emotions and connection to his memories.

The selection wasn’t by far not the best, but Ben knew what he had to look for and decided to focus on older models that were used by smaller elite groups, this way he could save some money without losing much in terms of quality. He bought a DC-15LE, a blaster rifle used by the Inquisitors or Imperial Purge Trooper commanders of the Galactic Empire, and an A-180 blaster, the old model had been used by the Alliance to Restore the Republic – later becoming more commonly known as the Rebellion – and the New Republic, today the Resistance used newer weapons, that were reconfigured out of this older model.

Content with his choices, Ben made his way to the next cantina. He had used a good amount of the credits, he had taken with him from the First Order, but a majority was still left. Though he needed to watch his spending to prevent spending too much of it.

Entering the cantina, Ben moved towards the bar. He didn’t know what the best way would be to find the person, who could help him, therefore he decided to observe all those present inside the cantina. He sat at the far end of the bar, where he could observe mostly everyone – besides the few people sitting in his back. He ordered an Ebla beer and slowly let his eyes wander through the room.

* * *

It took Ben an hour and a half as well as a second Ebla beer until he noticed something piqued his interest. In a corner of the cantina to his right sat two people. A human woman and a member of a species, that was unfamiliar to Ben. The figure had grey skin, out of each side of its head – where humans had their ears – grew a horn downwards to the chin, and black eyes were divided by a darker grey line which started in the middle of the face and let upwards to the top of the head.

Ben had noticed that both wore red flags attached to their clothing. It was a symbol he was familiar with – though he wasn’t sure if other groups weren't using it, too. A pirate group from the time of the Galactic Empire, that had later joined the partisans in their fight against it, had used these kinds of red flags to signify their affiliation.

They had been known as Enfys Nest’s marauders or Cloud riders before they had joined the partisans. The group had fought against the crime syndicates as well as the Galactic Empire. While the Rebellion hadn’t always seen eye to eye with the partisans, both groups had cooperated in the past. After the establishment of the New Republic, the group had seemingly stopped existing – at least to Ben’s knowledge. There had been no intel, that the Cloud-Riders reestablished themselves.

Ben was uncertain, if they were aligned with the Resistance or if they even were part of a new Cloud Rider’s group or wore the red flags out of other reasons, yet they were his best shot. He didn’t want to spend much more time on Tatooine and decided to talk to the two.

He emptied his bottle and walked over to the corner. He nodded at the two strangers, who regarded him warily. “A few decades ago, these red flags were used by a small, but effective group of warriors who fought against the war, against injustice, and against the crime syndicates,” said Ben instead of a different form of greeting. Ben had decided to jump right into to gauge their reaction so he may know if they were members of the Cloud-Riders.

“What is it to you?” asked the alien from the species, that Ben didn’t recognize. Its answer provided Ben with enough reason, that the two probably were some kind of rogue warriors, scoundrels, or something similar. Ben pointed his head to the chair, asking if he could join them at their table. The woman nodded and Ben sat down.

“War has ravaged this galaxy long enough. It has to stop. We all deserve to find peace again, but the First Order, the Resistance, and the Crime Syndicates will not voluntarily lay their arms down. I alone, can’t do much, but a whole group could work on ending this violent circle.” He let his words take effect. The others looked at each other. Then the woman spoke. “Why should we care? For all, we know you could be a member of the First Order trying to find dissenters.”

Ben had expected this concern. There was no way to prove his intent beyond all reason to doubt. He had to be as honest as possible and hope for the best. “Yes, I could be, but I am not. Maybe this will convince you.” With these words, Ben pulled out a small holochip, turned it on so it projected the image of his TIE Silencer. “I stole this from the First Order. It is yours if you want it, or we can sell it and you can keep the credits as my way of showing me trusting you.”

The others looked at each other. Then the woman turned to him, “Show us the ship, then we may talk. But if this is a trap, be sure, that we will kill you.” Ben nodded his acceptance and the three left the cantina and made their way back to the spaceport. When they could see the entrance to the spaceport, Ben suddenly stopped. The two strangers behind him raised their weapons and pointed them at his back. “What is it? Why did you stop?” They asked in a hushed tone.

“Something isn’t right,” Ben answered. “There should be some guards at the entrance, but no one is here.” He frowned and looked around. “Let’s be cautious. There may be some trouble ahead.” Ben loosened the rifle from his back and held it in his hands. Slowly they entered the spaceport and advanced through the hallways, to the site, where Ben had parked his ship.

Before they walked into the open space, Ben stopped again. “I am relatively sure, that there is someone in there. It’s too quiet here. I’ll go first. I would appreciate it if you’d cover me.” The other two nodded. Ben readied his weapon and cautiously looked into the open parking spot. This would have been a perfect situation for him to use the force, but that wasn’t an option anymore. So, he crouched and quickly stormed inside the space, and immediately searched for cover. And hid behind a big spare part that laid to his right. Behind him, two weapons peaked through the door but didn’t shoot, because everything seemed quiet. Then a loud voice rang out.

“Lay down your weapons and surrender yourself. You’re heavily outnumbered.” Stormtroopers, Ben thought. He turned around and tried to communicate with his two companions. He could only see the woman from his perspective. Ben held three fingers up, hoping she would understand. The woman nodded and slowly Ben counted down, putting down one finger after the other and when he had them all closed, he sprang up and tried to see the Stormtroopers. Immediately shots were fired.

Ben had been lucky, that they were the ones that fired first because there were more than a handful of stormtroopers that had an open sight on him and would at least hurt him badly if not killed him if they had gotten a clean shot on him. But they were distracted by getting shot at and so Ben could pick them off one after the other.

It took a few tries to get used to using a blaster again and to don’t use the force during fights. But Ben always adjusted fast in dangerous situations – after all he was a survivor, he had survived everything the galaxy had thrown at him and he wouldn’t die because of a few stormtroopers.

The group of three now walked around the TIE Silencer sitting in the middle of the lot to kill the last troopers hiding behind it. All in all, they had made a pretty good team and didn’t get hurt. The individual, that Ben still couldn’t identify, reached out with its hand. “My name is Alfasu Fi.” Ben shook his hand, then the woman pointed at herself, “Oniki Maxa.”

“I’m Magen.” Ben introduces himself. “We should probably get out of here, I don’t know if there are any others in the near vicinity, that may come to check on their comrades.” Alfasu and Oniki agreed with him and lead Ben away from the spaceport to a small apartment in Mos Espa.

* * *

Inside the apartment, they sat around a small table with only two chairs, which led to Alfasu Fi leaning against the kitchen unit next to it. Oniki began to explain their situation to Ben, “You know of the red flags?” Ben nodded and Oniki continued. “Well, the Cloud-Riders have a long history as you know – fighting against the empire and crime syndicates. After the war ended, they disbanded, but after crime syndicates and the First Order had risen again a few years after the establishment of the New Republic, the old members slowly got back together and now we’re back. We’re a new generation, some of us – like Alfasu Fi and me – are related to former members, but we also have new members. Why do you want to join us?”

Ben had thought about the answer to that question and had decided to use some of his real past, without disclosing too much. He looked at Alfasu Fi and then back at Oniki. “The First Order has caused much grief to my family. Without them, my father would still be alive, and I would never have been separated from my mother. My whole life was uprooted because of them and I lost many years just trying to survive and find my own place. But I think I approached it all from the wrong direction. I should try to stop them, stop them all who turn against the galaxy. The First Order, the crime syndicates, the war profiteers, …” There Ben stopped. He didn’t know if the Resistance was affiliated with the new-founded Cloud-Riders. There had been some ties between both predecessors in the war against the Empire, but already then there had been friction between them. The Cloud-Riders had been closer to Saw Gerrera and his partisans than the Rebellion. “… and the Resistance.” He finished.

Heavy silence laid itself down onto the room. Alfasu Fi and Oniki Maxa turned to each other and Ben had difficulties reading their thoughts – that had always been easier with the help of the Force. Alfasu Fi was the one who responded to Ben. “You would fight against the Resistance?” he asked him.

Reluctantly Ben nodded. Their reaction could have been worse, so he tried to push forward. “They’re buying from the same weapon dealers as the First Order. They want to recreate the same old government, that turned into the Empire, and that lost against the First Order. Slavery and oppression were silently tolerated. Crime Syndicates were barely contested. Not that the Resistance is a primary target, but they aren’t innocent, they push for a future, that is barely better than the regime, that the First Order has in mind.”

“How do you know all of this?” Oniki asked him. Ben sighed, but he was convinced, that he was on the right track. Their resistance was weakening, and they wanted proof for his statements and didn’t outright dissent with him. “My father was a smuggler and I know people from all sides of the war.” The others seemed to accept his explanation.

All his mentioning of his past made Ben wary. He didn’t know yet, how steady his disconnection from the Force had been, which also had put this veil between him and his memories. He noticed that it took some effort to remain his insouciance, but nothing that concerned him much. However, he shouldn’t test it too much, or else he risked falling back in old patterns. He had done the best he could to kill the past inside him, but it had the nasty habit of not staying dead.

Alfasu Fi was the one who prodded further. “And what do you think of their Jedi? Do you agree that they are a danger to us all?” Puzzled Ben’s eyes wandered to the big figure. Sitting down, Alfasu Fi appeared to be bigger than him, even if they were the same height. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you hear the new Supreme Leader’s speech about the danger of force-sensitives?” Alfasu Fi asked him. Frowning Ben tilted his head. Most likely Hux had gotten enough from Snoke’s and his treatment. It seemed to be apropos, he had to swallow a lot of things from their hands. But that also meant that Hux hadn’t been on his former flagship, Ben regretted. Though, it would have been too easy, to achieve his first goal while leaving the First Order.

Ben noticed that he still hadn’t answered the question, so he shook his head. “I don’t think they are a danger, just because they are force-sensitive. There are whole species, who are. Should they all be exterminated?” He paused for a moment. “No, they deserve to live just like we all do. But everyone who uses his abilities – should they be force-sensitive or not – to oppress others and cause violence, should be defeated to defend peace.”

Oniki nodded heavily. “We totally agree. I think you will be a good addition to the Cloud-Riders. We will discuss our stance toward the Resistance again later, but it is late, and we should all get some rest. Before we regroup with the others, we will meet another group of possible members.” Alfasu Fi moved away from the kitchen unit and showed Ben the place, where he could sleep. “We’ve agreed to meet on a moon in the Outer Rim, which will take us a day to travel to, and it is a slight detour, but should we be successful it will be worth it. If the reports are right, then a whole battalion will join us. A group of ex-Stormtroopers, that deserted after the battle on Ansett Island.”

Ben knew of the battle, it had happened before he had killed Snoke. After FN-2187 had deserted, rumors had spread, before they could be stopped and several stormtroopers and sometimes bigger groups of them had tried to desert. Obviously one of them had been successful. He showed his acknowledgment of Alfasu Fi’s words and silence slowly grew in the small apartment as everyone drifted asleep.

* * *

When he had found some sleep on his way to Tatooine, it had been calm and dreamless. This time it definitely wasn’t. His exhaustion last time must have kept him from either remembering anything or preventing, that something was happening. This time Ben was rested enough, that he noticed, what was happening but was unable to stop it at the same time.

The focus he maintained during the day, the veil he put between him and everything he wanted to shut out, was evaporating, while he was sleeping. Instead of dreamless sleep, the memories, he so painfully had put away assaulted him. A deep, black hole of longing filled him, when the face of his mother appeared in front of him, as he had seen it before the First Order had attacked the Raddus. The caressing hand of his father, after Ben had driven his lightsaber through him, appeared in front of him and slowly stroked his face. Rey, reaching out her hand, emerged in front of him, the strange sensation, that he had always felt between them, filled his mind.

Ben’s breathing got faster. Then his mind played his encounter with Luke back and forth, again and again. Finally, he succeeded in opening his eyes and immediately used his regained control to reinforce the veil between him and his memories, but it was already back in place and detachment took control of his emotions, the chaos inside him evaporating immediately. The remnants of his dream – or nightmare, Ben wasn’t so sure – lingered a few seconds, in some cases pushing against the veil in his mind, but then it was quiet again in his head.

Ben looked at the time. He had slept a few hours, that needed to be enough. He also needed to find a way to keep control over the disconnection from the force and his memories. He couldn’t fall back into his old patterns. The danger was too great. He had left his past behind, he was finally finishing, what he needed to do. Nothing should endanger that. There was no other place for him, no other place, where he could find a future for himself – Ben strictly ignored the soft voice accompanied by the crackling fire behind the veil telling him, that he wasn’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments, I am really enjoying hearing about your reading experience!
> 
> As always: The next chapter comes next Tuesday.


	7. This Is A Wild Game Of Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Leia discuss their plans for the future of the Resistance because they run into more problems than anticipated. Rey begins to study the Jedi texts, she stole from Ahch-to. And lastly, Mitaka reenters the scene of our story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's title is from Ruelle songs 'Game of Survival'.

The Resistance had used the rest of the day after Hux’s speech and the following one to prepare for the necessary missions to replenish their resources. A couple of people had taken up the task to contact as many people as they could, hoping this time they would get some answer not run into the same situation when they had been on Crait.

Leia and Poe had withdrawn themselves to have a private conversation. The Resistance had decided, that the two should act as generals and leader of the Resistance, while others would advise on certain specific topics. They sat around the holo-chess table in the Falcon, because this way they knew, if someone would be close enough to listen to what they had to discuss.

When they all had taken stock in the last days, it had become clear, that their situation was much direr, than they had expected. They had no ships and almost no other resources and no money to buy them from their usual contacts. During their meeting two days ago, they had made a plan to solve these problems, but as the days progressed and they waited on answers from the people they had contacted, Leia and Poe – together with Rose and Kaydel – recognized, that they would wait longer for answers than they had anticipated. And some people would have to be visited personally, but that would take time when they could only use one ship.

The two generals decided to discuss more unusual possibilities to improve the situation of the Resistance but didn’t want anyone to overhear them, because they didn’t know how popular their suggestion would be. Secluding themselves gave them more security and opened room for more creativity to find a solution.

“Don’t you have any old contacts from your Rebellion-times?” Poe asked Leia. He was desperate, he wanted to fulfill his new role without making the mistakes he was prone to make because of his character. He was much more comfortable charging into battle, but he wanted to care for the Resistance, he wanted to do his best to win this war and end the First Order and he was proud, that they had chosen him to lead them. Letting them down was something he was actively trying to avoid. But the situation was much more difficult than he was used, too.

Leia regarded him with a strange look, he couldn’t decipher. If he would be forced to bet, he would say it was uncertainty. However, he never had witnessed that kind of look on her face, so he wasn’t completely sure. “There may be people, who could connect me with others.” Then she stopped again, but Poe perked up. “Great, why don’t we use them?” He suggested.

Leia wrinkled her nose. “Well, they are not on the right side of the law, so to speak. Their goals don’t align with ours, maybe they even contradict each other.” Poe frowned. Suddenly that idea didn’t sound that good anymore. There were several concerns. Why would these people help them, if they wanted different things? And how would they sell this plan to the others? “How are these people?” he questioned his mentor.

Leia looked and shrugged with her shoulders. “Smugglers, Crime Syndicates, smaller criminals who control cities on outer rim planets.” Poe cringed. This weren’t the people he wanted to work with. His parents had instilled certain values in him. Both had been Resistance fighters and Leia had always been a role model for him, too. At the thought of betraying their values – even if Leia was proposing it – seemed wrong and he instinctively wanted to object, but the situation was more complicated. And Poe knew that. He doubted if they would be able to survive the following weeks if they didn’t get some resources fast. And what was more important? A few shady missions to regain strength or not betraying their values and possibly needing to disband the Resistance?

“Yeah, I ask myself the same question,” Leia commented. Poe realized that he had talked out loud for the last few moments and clearing his throat, he sat upright again and focused on his meeting with Leia. “Would these people even work with us? We’re not really natural allies, but rather natural enemies,” he wondered. Leia smiled and nodded. “I have someone in mind, who would make contact with them and deliver us the payment for the things, we would have to do. In the best case, we would never have to meet or see anyone else and no one of them would know, that they would pay us to do their jobs.”

That seemed like a rather solid plan, Poe thought. It had only one major flaw. This person needed to be trustworthy beyond any doubt and to Poe’s knowledge there weren’t many people of this caliber in the galaxy – and most of them were already members of the Resistance. So, he voiced his concern to Leia.

“The guy, that I am thinking of is an old family friend. We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but he and I can trust each other. He was part of the Rebellion after the destruction of the first Death Star.” Poe tilted his head in thought. There weren’t many people alive, who would still fit this description. “Lando Calrissian.” Leia finished.

“The old Rebellion general?” Poe inquired and after Leia nodded, he asked further. “Why isn’t he with us now? He could have helped us or supported us sooner? I don’t understand…” Frustration grew in the young man and he leaned forward on the table. Their quest to defeat the First Order was difficult enough, they needed every person they could get. This wasn’t the time to stand aside and let others fight over the future of the galaxy, Poe was convinced.

Leia allayed him. She told him, what had happened to Lando after the victory over the Empire, how he had retaken Cloud City, how they had stayed close until her son had been almost ten years old, how Lando had founded his own family, searched his own place in the galaxy and how they had become more distant after time. She had loosely kept tabs on him. She knew, that he and his family barely had escaped an First Order attack and since then, they were hiding and Lando had gone back to his old craftsmanship, and was back on the more illegal side of the law, to keep his family safe and support them. “I can understand why Lando never joined us and he doesn’t really have any credits or other resources, that would help us, but I am sure, that he would act as a middle-man, so we can get credits or other things as fast as we need them. He already has the necessary contacts. It wouldn’t be difficult or dangerous for him and it would be his way of supporting our cause.” Leia told him.

“I don’t like it,” Poe admitted, then he sighed. They were in a dead-end and had to find a way out of it, even if he personally didn’t like it. Sometimes the end did justify the means. “But I think it’s the only way we have. We simply have to sell it to the others, there rightly may be some concerns about this plan…” He shook his head. Together they continued to discuss, which jobs, they would take and which they would refuse. Leia and Poe wanted to be able to reassure their comrades, that they wouldn’t do something, that would gravely harm innocent people.

* * *

While the two leaders of the Resistance were discussing their future, Rey decided to continue her training to the best of her capabilities. There wasn’t anything else or something more important she could do. Rose and Chewie were working on the Falcon and didn’t need her help. Rey had taken the Jedi books she had stolen from Luke and wandered a few minutes away from the Resistance to have some quiet time.

She had found a small clearing, that was ideal for her project. She still used the grey clothes, that she had taken with her to Ahch-too but had found a few other pieces in a stash on the Falcon, that seemed to fit her. She would have to ask Chewie or Leia if she could use them. Rey didn’t know where Han had gotten them – at least she presumed Han had acquired them somewhere – or why, he had clothes, that neither matched his figure nor Leia’s, but she would put them to good use.

Her hair was still kept in the style, that she had worn when she had been on Ahch-too and the Supremacy. Sometimes it reminded her of the painful events there, but she couldn’t go back to her three-bun-style, not after she knew, what her parents had done to her. Rey wanted to move on, to carve her own future, and not be determined by her parents. And this new hairstyle resembled that at least somewhat.

Sighing she sat on the jungle ground. She didn’t know where to start, which book to read first or if she should revisit the exercise Luke had shown her. Her bond with Ben had also led to some knowledge being stashed in her brain. Sometimes she just knew how to do things with the Force she had never learned, other things felt natural to do.

She took the lightsaber out, that she and Ben had destroyed while trying to control it. Doubt was growing in her head. She wanted to do her part for the survival – and hopefully the victory – of the Resistance. She had helped them escape from Crait, but where was her place now? She had no weapon, no real training, Luke was dead and Kylo Ren hadn’t turned to the light side. She had a handful of old books and a partial understanding and control over that thing inside her. She knew what she wanted to do, but she didn’t know if she would be able to do it.

Frustrated she packed the lightsaber parts away again. Why hadn’t Ben come with her? She had seen it she was so sure of it. And there had been something between them. She had felt it in the hut, when they had held hands and, in the elevator when they had talked and in Snoke’s throne room, when they had fought side at side. She couldn’t forget this feeling, that had bloomed inside her, but then Kylo Ren had betrayed her, had attacked her, had hunted her. She had opened up to him and then he betrayed her. She had taken the risk to come to him and he had defended her, only to immediately turn around and choose the First Order over her. She hated him, she told herself. She hated him, she hated him. And yet, deep down, beneath all her anger, she just missed him, wanted to belong to him and he should belong to her. But she crushed that feeling down, used her anger to drive it away.

Rey huffed and sprung in the air. She needed an outlet for all this pent-up frustration and anger. She took her staff and stepped in front of the trees at the edge of the clearing. Then she used it as a dummy to attack it and put all her anger into her hits. She used the distance she had put between her and the Resistance to yell her feelings at the tree she was beating. It was like she was in trance. It was cathartic.

Time passed and passed, and Rey didn’t know how much when she finally calmed down again. Heaving heavily, she stepped back and looked at the poor tree in front of her. It bore deep marks, where her staff had connected with its dark bark. Rey murmured a quiet apology and then turned around to go back to the books, that were still laying on the ground, where she had left them.

She threw her staff to the ground and picked one of them at random. She opened it on the first page and swore. She knew how to read, in fact, she could read several languages – most of them more partially, but she didn’t even recognize the letters in this book. She flipped through its pages, as a single fell out of it. It had been hidden on one of the last pages on it and when Rey saw, what was on it, a wave of happiness erupted inside her.

Someone had taken the trouble on themselves to create a chart, with which she could transcribe the unreadable language into the Aurebesh, which she could read. Though it would take her a lot of time to translate the whole book, Rey thought. Again, she looked through the old relict in her hands. There were pictures on many pages, that should help the reader to understand what was written in the text next to it, and on several pages where bigger fonts. Rey presumed that these were chapter titles. She would begin with translating them and then use them and the pictures to decide which passages she would read first.

Her priority were all the things, that would help their fight – either ways of using the force in battle or to help with reconnaissance –, and how to repair or build her own lightsaber. Rey wished that there would be a way to have a lightsaber, that resembled her staff more because that fighting style was more familiar to her, but at this point, she would accept almost any form of lightsaber as long as she had a functioning one. With a sigh, Rey made her way back to their base to begin her task.

* * *

Mitaka was glad, that he had been one of the officers, that had left Kylo Ren’s ship a couple of days before that one had blown it up. The emergency transmission, that they had received in the minutes, where the ship was breaking up, clearly showed Kylo Ren as the responsible person of destroying his own ship. It was the last straw, that convinced him to set his plan into motion.

In the last days, he had gathered intel, that would buy him his way into the Resistance. Now he just had a way to find them – this was the one problem, he didn’t know yet how to solve it. After the destruction by the lightspeed attack near Crait and by Ren a few weeks later, many people had been promoted to fill vacant positions and Mitaka had been one of them. He could authorize small missions, which would be his way out of the First Order.

He searched the databank of the First Order for any clue that could lead him to the Resistance. Eventually, he found the reports of the battle of Takodana. The Jedi girl and the droid had traveled there, and the Resistance had fought there. That place must be important, Mitaka thought. The fights had been located at the shore of Nymeve Lake near some kind of castle.

The atmosphere inside the First Order had grown more dangerous since Hux had ascended to the position of Supreme Leader. Kylo Ren had been dangerous, but everyone knew that he wouldn’t kill you, his anger would affect the people around him, but lastly, it was directed against equipment, machines, or walls. Hux however, was more vicious and devious. He manipulated the people around him, pretended to be friendly only to kill them in the next moment.

Mitaka wanted out now. He had intel. He had the power to start a mission. He had a planet, where he could start his search for the Resistance. There was no reason to wait. As he created the mission file in the First Order’s intranet, he realized that he shouldn’t put Takodana as his planetary goal in it. They would find him to easily. Or maybe they would think, he was trying to deceive them and therefore presume Takodana wasn’t his true destination.

Mitaka’s finger hovered about the screen, considering his options. Finally, he looked up the next planet on the Great Gran Run, the hyper lane Takodana was located on, and named the planet Noe’ha’on as the destination for his mission. This way no one would question the direction in which he traveled, it was close enough to quickly reach Takodana and maybe no one would think, that his true destination was the next planet on the hyper lane.

Mitaka completed the form to authorize this mission and made his way to the hangar to finally leave this wretched organization. Excitement bloomed in his chest, accompanied by nervosity, but he focused on all the encounters with Kylo Ren he had overcome, he shouldn’t be afraid now, no one expected his betrayal. A small smile formed on his face, as he climbed into a small ship, which grew as he left the First Order behind him.


	8. The Calm Before The Storm - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo, Oniki Maxa, and Alfasu Fi travel from Tatooine to Kef Bir to meet the deserted stormtrooper battalion. More information about the Cloud-Riders and the plans for their fight against crime syndicates and war groups are revealed. 
> 
> A few sectors away, Leia makes contact with Lando.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the next chapter move all the chess pieces into their final position before confrontation and fights will happen. There are three to four major players (The Resistance, The First Order, The Cloud-Riders, and The Crime Syndicates) in this war, all with different or opposing aims. Additionally, the whole situation is complicated by other factors: Ben's connection to Leia, Rey, Lando, and Chewbacca; Rey's force training; Mitaka is on his way to Maz; the Knights of Ren have their own goals; the propaganda war against force-sensitives; and there was this short mention of a conversation happening beyond this galaxy (or at least the plane where our story currently unfolds, if you know what I mean).

Ben enjoyed the quiet time he had for himself after his nightmare, but he was glad when it was over and the two others awoke and he wasn't alone with his thoughts. Alfasu Fi and Oniki Maxa got up early, Ben observed. They all quietly greeted each other and then quickly packed their things to leave the apartment. Amidst the waking city, they scurried to the edge of the settlement. They had to evade multiple patrols of Stormtroopers, but the three knew how to move to stay undetected and made it safely to the place, where they had stashed two speeder bikes.

Shrugging Oniki turned to Ben “Sorry, Magen, we hadn’t planned for a third person, so it will be somewhat tight on them, but our ship isn’t far. We didn’t want to use the spaceport here for obvious reasons.” Alfasu Fi moved the two bikes from under the plane and out of the building and got one of them. Oniki climbed on the other and pointed Ben to sit behind her. When they were as comfortable as possible, which wasn’t easy, because of Ben’s build, both speeders were started and quickly put distance between themselves and Mos Espa.

They drove across the tatooinian desert for several minutes until a mountain range became visible and both stopped their bikes. Alfasu Fi took binoculars out of his pocket and searched for the presence of possible enemies or stormtroopers, who were tracking them, but they were completely alone, as the suns of Tatooine rose higher on the sky.

The drove the remaining distance to a mountain range and finally descended from their bikes not half an hour after they had left Mos Espa. Ben helped Alfasu Fi to hide their bikes again, while Oniki went ahead and disappeared behind a big boulder. There was no visible path ravine leading through the mountains and the two Cloud-Riders had obviously used this place before because no one seemed to frequent it. There was a small rock crevice, just big enough to push the two speeders into it after each other. Then Alfasu Fi led Ben into the direction, Oniki had wandered off.

When Ben saw their ship, he stocked. The dark grey ship was roughly 35 meters (39 yards) long and 10 meters (11 yards) wide. Ben guessed that one would need to stack five of his TIE Silencers onto each other to reach the height of the ship before him. Its big and round engines were half-hidden by the ship’s corpus and located low on each side – they were difficult to hit if you weren’t attacking the ship from the side. The ship had two small, rear-faced wings to stabilize the ship and four landing legs – one in each corner. On its right side a small ramp led into the ship and on the dome-like top Ben could spot a cockpit, that seemed big enough for one or two pilots, and a little bit higher a second one for a gunner, who would use the can laser cannons attached to the front of the ship and the missiles beneath the wings.

Ben couldn’t believe what he saw, he had never seen a ship like this other than on the holonet. “That’s an alderaanian gunship,” Ben didn’t know if he was asking Alfasu Fi or just remarking what he was seeing. The gunship had been common for the alderaanian fleet. It had two floors and could transport up to 40 troops in its lower level and provided small living quarters for up to four persons, that would commandeer the ship.

The humanoid species in front of Ben didn’t turn around and just shrugged with his shoulders. “Where did you get it?” Ben asked further. The sight of the ship caused a strange feeling inside him. It was like a soft and muted squeeze around his heart. Quickly Ben reinforced his mental fortress. He told himself, that he was just interested because almost everything alderaanian had been destroyed after the planet itself had been demolished by the first Death Star. It was simply an academic, scholarly interest in how this ship had survived all these years – and had nothing to do with his mother.

Finally, Alfasu Fi answered him. “It has been in our – the Cloud Rider’s – possession for a long time. A handful of people managed to escape the Alderaan’s destruction and some of them became pirates. The alderaanian captain died and the crew joined us. No one of them is alive anymore, but the ship is still ours. You have a good eye if you’ve noticed its origin. Not many people would recognize it.”

Silently Ben walked alongside the side of the ship and entered it after Alfasu Fi. Oniki had already completed the check-up and was ready to start it. “I’ve had family connections to Alderaan,” Ben murmured. Alfasu Fi simply nodded and Ben was glad, that he wasn’t inquiring further. That part was something, that he tried to distance himself from and he didn’t want to think about it anymore.

However, Oniki had overheard him and stared at him. Ben countered her gaze. “You weren’t kidding, when you said you lost much to the wars,” she commented. Ben made an affirmative gesture and then sat down, while Alfasu Fi joined Oniki in the cockpit. They left the ground and ascended skywards. When they put enough distance between themselves and Tatooine, the ship entered hyperspace and the two Cloud Riders joined Ben. “Will you tell me, what our destination is?” he asked them. Oniki and Alfasu Fi exchanged a quick look and then the woman turned back to Ben. “We’re on our way to Kef Bir – one of the moons of…”

“of Endor,” Ben whispered. Alfasu Fi nodded. “It’s a planet with a giant ocean and a lot of green. A small company of deserted Stormtroopers made contact with someone, who then informed us. Only seldom we’re approached directly.”

“And you’re sure, that it isn’t a trap?” Ben asked, “Aren’t the troops of the First Order all kidnapped children? How did they know who to contact?” A small, appreciative smile formed on Oniki’s face. “We had the same doubts, Magen. Allegedly, these stormtroopers were stationed on Kijimi and after their desertion had contacted one of the bartenders – Oma Tres – in the Thieves’ Quarters in Kijimi City and he then contacted us, because we had done some business with him to support the people on Kijimi. We still can’t be totally sure, that it isn’t some sort of trap, but we need more support if we want to make an impact in this war and against the crime syndicates.”

“We were meeting with him on Kijimi, that is why we had a layover on Tatooine.” Oniki continued. “And to be honest, we’re glad, that you’re with us. Should Kef Bir really be a trap, then we certainly need every help that we can get.”

* * *

It took them several hours until they reached Kef Bir. On their way there, the three remained relatively silent only exchanging a few words about their plan, should they walk in a trap as soon as they touched down on the moon. As they got closer to the surface, Ben reequipped his blaster pistol and rifle and controlled if his lightsaber was still well-hidden but reachable beneath his clothes. Oniki and Alfasu Fi armed themselves with weapons, too. Neither of them preferring close distance ones, but instead both opting to carry blasters.

Finally, the ramp of the ship lowered itself to the ground and the three stepped onto the green surface of Kef Bir. In the distance, they could hear its raging oceans crashing against the shore. After a few moments another group of sounds appeared, multiple hooves riding across the open landscape. Alfasu Fi pointed the group of nearly fifteen riders out, who was approaching them.

Ben’s hand moved to his blaster pistol, but then he recognized, that their movement wasn’t aggressive, nor were they riding some form of attack formation, so he refrained from drawing his weapon. The three of them – Oniki in the middle, flanked by Alfasu Fi and Ben – waited for the arrival of who the presupposed where the deserted Stormtrooper group. Finally, the impressive cohort stood in front of them and dismounted their mounts.

A black woman carrying a rifle on her back and who was exuding a commanding aura came forward and introduced herself as Jannah, the leader of the deserted battalion. Oniki led the conversation with her and after they had formed a small amount of trust, they agreed on working together. From there on, others – and especially Ben – were included in the discussion on how to proceed.

Oniki and Alasu Fi explained to them, that everyone would have to undergo a test for tracker – Ben had been checked, when he had entered the apartment on Tatooine – and neither of them would be told, where the cloud-riders temporary base was located. They all had to gain that trust in their missions and on the base.

With the new ex-stormtroopers and Ben, the Cloud-Riders had doubled their number of active fighters and now stood a chance against the crime-syndicates – even if they were mostly confined to guerilla-style attacks.

Getting the animals and their riders on the ship, was a difficult task and they would have to make several stops on their way to the hidden base. It was a security risk both, Oniki and Alasu Fi, were willing to take because they desperately needed more recruits if they wanted to achieve permanent results.

Oniki and Alfasu Fi stayed alone in the cockpit as they plotted their course to the base on Manpha and calculated the several intermediate stops they had to take – preferably on lonely or deserted planets – for the animals in their cargo hold.

It wasn’t designed for the thirteen Orbaks – the name of the big black and brown horse-like beasts, the ex-stormtrooper battalion 77 was riding – it was currently holding. But these animals would present a significant advantage in battle and leaving them on Kef Bir wasn’t even discussed. Ben wasn’t sure if their new comrades even would have parted from their animals.

* * *

After nearly a full day of travel, the group arrived at the planet. As they stepped out of the ship, they discovered the wet and swampy surface of the planet. But the base was located on a more secure and dry area of the planet, located on the Corellian Trade Spine.

A small group of low-rise buildings stood a few minutes away from the ship, which was the second biggest of the four ships parked on the planet. Two small white and blue U-wing starfighters were standing in the shadow of a bigger star shuttle, twice the size of the gunship, with which they had traveled for the last two days.

“These are the remnants from the Cloud-Riders participation in the Galactic Civil War on the side of the rebellion,” Oniki explained to Ben. “The bigger ship is a CSS-1 Corellian Star Shuttle and was being used since before the Clone Wars, but we modified it and now it has enough capacity for the Orbaks and a few other things. They – my parents, Alfasu Fi’s and the other Cloud-Riders – took all three ships with them in the chaos after the end of the war – the one against the Empire. They called it compensation for everything they did.” She shrugged.

Then the whole group reached the few buildings and the two Cloud-Riders turned to them. “After the Hosnian Cataclysm, the destruction of Starkiller Base and the distress signal from Crait, the last surviving members of the Cloud-Riders and a few newer members made plans together. We all split up to gather new resources and recruits and we’ll all meet here tomorrow,” Alfasu Fi continued. “The others are currently on the carrier, which will be our permanent base. We’ll introduce everyone and plan our next steps.”

“This galaxy has endured enough war, violence, and crime. Let’s finally aim to end it. No more Hutts subjugating whole populations, no more First Order slave mines and manufacturing plants, no more war to rule the galaxy.” The former stormtroopers clapped in support of the few words. They only had a few hours until everyone would go to sleep, and they still had to take care of their Orbaks.

Ben searched for the leader of his former subordinates. Finally, he found her overseeing the small herd of animals, who were grazing near the bigger shuttle. She was standing halfway between the provisional base and the ships. Ben walked up to her.

“Jannah, right?” he asked her. She nodded and observed him. They hadn’t been really introduced, yet – while they had planned their travel from Kef Bir to their current planet, Oniki had briefly told Jannah his name, but they hadn’t had to chance to properly talk with each other. The old alderaanian gunship had been too crowded to walk around and have pleasant talks. “You joined them shortly before we did, didn’t you?” she asked him.

“Yes and no. I met Oniki and Alfasu Fi on Tatooine after you made contact with them but before we met on Kef Bir.” He had drawn her interest, but Ben also saw some wariness in her eyes. “That’s some luck to just cross their way on some random planet,” Jannah commented, “How did you get them to trust you?”

“Tatooine is hardly a random planet. It’s known for the clientele that frequents it. It was my first stop on the search for others who want to bring an end to this violent past, that still haunts and controls this galaxy. My way in was a ship I had stolen from the First Order, but they had found it first and we had to fight some stormtroopers and had to flee from Tatooine. After that fight, we had lost the ship, but they had enough trust in me, that they took me with them.” Ben shortly explained the events of the last days and his words seemed to reassure Jannah – at least to some degree.

She looked away into the distance – past the ships standing near the edge of the swamp. “I hate to kill them,” she whispered. “I hate to kill stormtroopers. I don’t want to do it. Almost every one of them was a kid stolen from their home and forced to become a servant to the First Order, programmed to kill and murder, punished if they show some free will or individuality, stripped of name and past.” Jannah’s voice lost itself.

“It’s horribly, what children have to endure.” Ben murmured. “It isn’t just the First Order. Child slavery and labor are much too common. Or they have to suffer some other way. They grow up, while war ravages the galaxy. It has to stop.”

Jannah turned fully to Ben. “But it isn’t just the children who deserve a shot at a better life. The ones who had their childhood, their life, stolen deserve it, too. All my siblings, who are still part of the First Order, should have the possibility to choose another life, a life free from the First Order. I know that I won’t be able to save them all, but I want to try.”

Ben had to avert his gaze from Jannah’s piercing eyes. Her determinacy was impressive, but her words, her anger hit too close to that part in him, that he had separated from himself. Ben had stood in front of that same decision – several times. He was sure he had finally freed himself of the atrocities he had survived in the past, he had freed himself from the cage he was forced into, but he hadn’t come out of this fight free, happy and peaceful. His life would never be merry, calm or tranquil again, Ben thought

What he had done to free himself of his past had been violent and had shaken him to his core. It took strength to uphold this veil that tore right through him. His life had one task: Bring peace and freedom to the people of the galaxy. The one person who would never be able to enjoy these was he. He would be bound to that quest and he expected to lose his life somewhere during it – hopefully after a longer period of time, after the First Order and major crime syndicates had fallen.

“You can’t save people, who actively fight against that saving, who have a different agenda. If you want to save your former comrades, then they have to choose to go with you – or at least chose to leave the Order for another life,” Ben told her. “I am certain, that many will do if the occasion arises,” Jannah answered him, “If FN-2187 could do it if my battalion could do it and others tried it, then everyone can do it.”

But Ben knew that things were more complicated. He had lived through this choice and he had chosen to not go with Rey, to not leave the Order. Ben felt the need to make her understand, that they needed a good plan if they wanted to save as many of these lost children who had grown up under the control of the FO. “Jannah, if they have to decide at that moment if they should leave the First Order or stay, then many will not choose your option and many people on both sides will have to die. I am not saying, we shouldn’t try to free them. We must. I am not saying, we shouldn’t give everyone the chance to leave. We should. I am saying, we need to upscale your plan. These people need to know, that there will be the occasion to rise against the First Order and that they have to be ready for it, they have to support it, they have to execute it. Not we are saving them, but together – we and them – are bringing down the menace, that is the First Order. We can’t just go to them and tell them it’s time to leave. That isn’t the way you left. And it won’t be the way they leave.”

‘And it was the way, I stayed with the First Order’ were the unspoken words in Ben’s mind. He hadn’t been ready when Rey had come to him. He hadn’t been ready to kill Snoke and leave the First Order and return to his mother, to the Resistance. Only one of these things, he had had the strength to do. He had to find his own way. He had needed time. And hence he knew that the Stormtroopers would need time, too.

Ben remained silent, while Jannah seemed to think about his words. He knew she knew that he was right. But she was also filled by the righteous need to free the others. Finally, she nodded, “I don’t like to have to wait until we can start freeing them, but of course you’re right. We’ll find a way to bring word to them, that the time approaches when they have to rise up against the First Order. And then we’ll bring the whole thing down.”

“We bring them all down,” Ben promised with her. “We’ll start with the syndicates – the Hutts maybe – and then continue with the war machines that terrorize this galaxy. They will not be able to stand against us, not if we, the people, and the stormtroopers join forces. We’ll bring them all down.”

* * *

Leia and Lando met on a small planet near Bespin, called Bavva. They met in a hidden cantina, that Lando knew was secure because most of the criminals in it – as well as the bartender and owner of the cantina – had suffered by the First Order’s war and industrial activities. Nevertheless, Leia only revealed her face, as they both sat relatively well hidden in a booth in the last corner of the cantina.

“It’s good to see you again, old friend,” Leia greeted Lando. “I feel the same way, Leia. I heard the news about Han. Is it true, that he is dead?” Lando asked. Concern showed itself on his face. Leia’s whole expression shifted briefly, which was answer enough for Lando. “My condolences, Leia. Can you tell me what happened?”

Leia took a deep breath. “We knew of a way to get to Ben. He was on Starkiller Base and we had plans and the means to destroy it. Han confronted him and then…” Leia’s voice broke and she gestured with her hands. Lando shook his head. “No, Leia. Ben?” Leia could only nod and silence laid itself over the pair, both losing themselves in memories about the young boy both had known and lost, both grieving the loss of people, they considered family. Then Lando leaned back. Leia wasn’t here to talk about Han or their son, that much he knew. “What do you need, Leia? How can I help you?”

“We lost many people and many resources in the last few weeks. We had to endure several defeats in our fight against the First Order and we don’t have enough of anything to rebuild the Resistance. The spark is reborn, but it will extinguish if we have nothing to light up the darkness,” Leia said. “I know that you’re only doing small jobs and I don’t want to put you in any danger. You only have to be our contact. You know people. People that we can’t know. We need you to be our intermediary. You talk with the syndicates and get us jobs. We do them and you collect the payment and we split it.” Leia informed Lando of the Resistance’s plan.

Several moments Lando thought about it, thought about the risks, thought about the importance of the Resistance’s survival. Then he answered her. “I can do that. I will do that,” Lando said and Leia was relieved. “There is a slight problem. From the contacts I have, I think the only we can securely use and who has jobs, that pay enough, are the Hutts. They aren’t as strong as they were, but they are growing again.”

Leia considered Lando’s words. Working with the Hutts definitely wasn’t what she preferred, but she had to sacrifice her personal aversions and problems with the Hutts if she wanted the Resistance to survive. They had to get stronger now if they wanted to be able to defeat the First Order, especially if they were escalating this war by rallying the galaxy through their propaganda against the Resistance and all force-sensitives.

“I don’t see any other way if we don’t want the Resistance to become an insignificant force. If you agree to act as our middleman, then the Resistance will work for the Hutt cartel,” Leia sighed. They had to keep this collaboration as short and secret as possible. A handful of jobs should be enough to get the Resistance securely back onto their feet.

A few meters away an old Tognath had listened in on the end of the conversation happening between two people he hadn’t seen for years. His sigh was hidden by his distinctive breathing apparatus of two tubes leading from both sides of his head, down his upper body to his back. He had known the princess-general during the war against the Empire. He had known her husband. And they hadn’t left on bad terms.

But decades had passed since he and the partisans had fought together with Leia and the Rebellion. Even more time had passed since Han Solo, he and the Cloud-Riders had fought against Crimson Dawn. Apparently much had changed. Leia had been the person with higher moral standards, not he. Benthic was sure, that the newly forming Cloud-Riders would be very interested in the news he was bringing them. The Resistance didn’t stop short of working with the major crime syndicates. He wondered how much this bit of information would change the fights that would erupt in the coming weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to post the second part of 'The Calm Before The Storm' this weekend, but it is not exactly finished. I am eager to get to the 'Storm'-part of this story, where things will be rapidly escalating and people will have to make difficult (and maybe unpopular) decisions - it already started with the Resistance and Leia who have to work shortly with/for the crime syndicates. It is a long way until the happy End.
> 
> Short Side Note:  
> The bartender on Kijimi (Oma Tres) is a canon character. You can google that. The alderaanian ship is inspired by another ship that was at some time canon in the Star Wars Universe (I don't know if it's still canon, but I don't think so). And Benthic - sometimes known as Tubes - is a canon character, too.
> 
> P.S.:  
> I have posted a One-Shot about all the times Kylo/Ben kneeled while in Rey's presence in TFA and TLJ and also two times he kneeled afterward (TROS doesn't exist in that story). It is not the most usual story and it's mostly about Kylo/Ben's thought process at these moments, but maybe give it a read, if you want and want to enjoy something different than the story above and other stories usually posted on AO3:
> 
> [Genuflectio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26073301)


	9. The Calm Before The Storm - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Knights of Ren get their first intel on Kylo Ren. Mitaka is on his way to Takodana and the Cloud-Riders prepare for their fight to establish peace in the galaxy beyond the options that the First Order or the Resistance offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My intention was to post this chapter on the weekend and another one today, but life came in the way and so there is no extra chapter.

It took the Knights of Ren several days until they got their first intel, where they could start their search for Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren. With their ship, called Night Buzzard – a longish Oubliette-class transport. The trapezoid-shaped ship was traveling through the Outer Rim when the news of a TIE Silencer being left on Tatooine reached them.

They were a few hours away from the planet and Korkork – the giant pilot – immediately turned the ship around and rushed towards Tatooine. Carush – their tracker – sat in the seat of the co-pilot and repeatedly tried to find some trace of Kylo Ren in the force but remained unsuccessful. Ikn’ash and Enk’ish – twins, who both used double-bladed vibroswords and most often fought in tandem – were sparring to pass the time it would take them to reach Tatooine. The two women had been the last ones to join the group before Kylo Ren and hadn’t met him on Elphrona when the Knights of Ren – back then under the leadership of Ren before Kylo Ren had killed him – had been encountered by a young Ben Solo, Lor San Tekka and Luke Skywalker.

Every time Kylo Ren was otherwise occupied or unavailable, the Knights of Ren were led by Vicrap – a smaller, but deadly women – and Ap’do – whose stature almost resembled Kylo Ren’s, even if he was generally a little bit smaller than their master. These two were discussing their plans and possibilities in their small conference room in the middle of the ship.

They would give themselves a few days to find the former Supreme Leader, but if he wasn’t to be found and wasn’t contacting them, then the Knights of Ren would continue their path alone. Tatooine seemed to be a good starting point for their search, especially if the information about the TIE Silencer was true.

Ap’do and Vicrap had speculated about Kylo Ren’s motivation, that had caused his departure from the First Order, and about the reason for his disappearance in the force. They hadn’t found any satisfying answers to their question and every possible one stood in opposition to the aims and principles of the Knights of Ren. Should Kylo Ren have diverted from the path of Ren, that the Knights were following – not worrying about right and wrong, but instead, only taking what they wanted to take – then Kylo Ren would become their enemy and had to be eliminated, as well as Hux was their enemy now after the former General had declared war against all force-sensitives.

* * *

Mitaka reached Noe’ha’on after half a day of travel. He didn’t plan to stay long on the jungle planet in the Expansion Region. On his way there he had already contacted a local vendor to sell his ship. In return, he would get some credits and a Skipper – a small and agile vessel often used by smugglers – which he would use to reach Takodana.

The former Lieutenant swapped his ships and only stayed shortly on this planet – after he left again, he would finally be officially a deserter, but he hoped, that the First Order wouldn’t notice after he had ditched his ship again and found another ride to the Resistance – hopefully, one that wouldn’t be tracked by the First Order.

He landed the skipper a few minutes per foot away from the castle, which was circled by heavy machinery, that was rebuilding some of the structure. Mitaka cursed, he hadn’t thought about that. Maybe there was no one here, that could lead him to the Resistance, but he had come this far, and he needed to try, he needed to follow his plan, or he would constantly be on the run.

As he got close to the castle, Mitaka was glad, that there seemed to be some activity down there besides workers repairing the building. No one stopped him on his way to the front door, and either they thought he was allowed to be there, or the bar was still open for business. As Mitaka entered he knew, that the last one was true. The inside wasn’t filled to the brim, but there were more than a handful of people present.

Mitaka pulled the hood of his cloak further down to avoid anyone recognizing him and made his way to the bar, where he asked a waiter where he could find the owner of the bar. The man looked him slowly up and down, then shook his head and yelled: “Maz, you have a visitor.”

When he noticed the attention of the other patrons the waiter had caught, Mitaka cringed. But then he saw a small, orange woman with big glasses making her way to him. She swung herself on the barstool next to him and stood on it and looked him directly in his eyes. “Who are you, young men? I don’t think, I’ve ever met you and I certainly don’t remember your eyes and I always remember them.”

Mitaka stuttered and tried to whisper so no one could overhear him, “I want to… want to join the… the Resistance. I… I have information… information for them.” Maz’s eyes grew and her gaze seemed to pierce his soul. “And why do you want to join them?”

“Because,” Mitaka lowered his voice even more and Maz leaned towards him, “because the First Order is evil. Snoke was evil. Kylo Ren was dangerous. And Hux is completely unpredictable, truly evil, and has the highest goals. He needs to be stopped.”

Maz stayed silent and then quickly moved some mechanism at the edge of her glasses so her eyes quickly changed between bigger and smaller. “Your eyes… I saw others similar to yours not that long ago – shortly after the First Order attacked my bar. But the eyes back then wanted to run from something, you on the other hand want to run towards something. There is fear in your eyes, but also honesty. You’ll find your true calling, young men. You’ll find your bravery.”

Then Maz leaned back and again and Mitaka was finally able to breathe again. Before she turned around, she said a few last words: “Tomorrow a ship will leave shortly before dawn, carrying a few resources to the Resistance, you can join them. You can stay here, but be ready to leave, they won’t wait for you.” When Maz had left him, the waiter approached him again, handing Mitaka some food and something to drink.

* * *

The giant carrier arrived on the temporary base of the newly re-established Cloud-Riders shortly after breakfast. Oniki and Alfasu Fi informed them all about the procedure following the arrival of the other Cloud-Riders. They would have an introductory meeting, including Jannah and Magen – Ben – where they would talk about the chain of command, their aims, and the general concept of what the galaxy should look like in the future. That meeting would determine if they would be able to work together.

Ben knew he had to establish himself as a valuable member of the Cloud-Riders if he wanted to have a say in what they would be doing in the following weeks and months, maybe years. He wasn’t sure how well he would fare if he was a simple member of the Cloud-Riders following orders from others. He was prepared to make compromises to widen the impact their actions would have, but he wasn’t above leaving the Cloud-Riders and searching for another way to fulfill his mission.

As the message spread through the base, that the carrier would arrive any moment, Jannah and her battalion, Oniki Maxa and Alfasu Fi, and Ben gathered outside to welcome them. They saw a dark unsymmetrical ship descending into the direction of the ground – it was difficult to estimate its size, but Ben knew that it had to had the capability of being a comfortable home for up to 30 people for several months, at least he had been told that. The left wing of the ship was five times as long as the right wing – which led to its distinct shape. The longer wing had stabilizers at its far end and between both wings was the highest part of the ship, where the cockpit and probably the communal area and some living quarters would be. It looked like an elongated cube with rounded corners.

Several hundred meters above them the carrier stopped and several smaller vehicles were separating from the larger ship and made their way downward. Ben recognized these as swoop-bikes – practically versatile speeders that could be launched from ships, who were several hundred kilometers (or two to three hundred miles) above the ground.

The coordinated landing of the five swoop bikes and their pilots and passengers was impressive and no one dared to speak during the process. Seven people approached the group, all wearing helmets. Ben was used to people in masks around him, so he has gotten good in estimating their height and build, even when they tried to conceal it.

Her mask – and the ones the others wore – were obviously self-made from various metals, but every one of them looked sturdy, kept in good shape, and as if they were doing a good job in protecting the wearer. Their leader’s helmet had a symmetrical shape with several backward protruding parts. The front of it above the place, where their eyes were hidden behind a small slit, was much larger than one would expect from a human – which made Ben wonder, if the person behind the mask was human – and wanted to look bigger than they were (which didn’t mean, that they weren’t as deadly as they seemed) – or some other species with a differently shaped head.

As the group stopped a few feet away from them, Ben could see, that the large forehead of the helmet offered enough space for several lines of texts written on it. He recognized the shape of Dishabesh and his brain quickly provided the meaning of the short sentence: ‘Until we reach the last edge, the last opening, the last star and can go no higher.’

“What do you think of it?” Its wearer asked him. Their voice distorted by the helmet. Ben didn’t know, how they had known, that he had read the sentence – maybe they were just that good. “I heard many mottos that were much worse.” He offered as an answer. A few moments they simply stared at each other until the person in front of him, let her gaze wander to Oniki and Alfasu Fi and greeted them both. Both Cloud-Riders prompting for a nod in return and Alfasu Fi combining it with a name: “Enfys.”

Ben had heard stories about her, and he was glad, the still seemed to lead the small group of marauders and pirates. He carefully ignored any memory of his father, his uncles – Chewie and Lando – or his mother, as his brain reminisced the stories he had been told about the woman. She had to be sixty to seventy years old – it was impressive, that she was still alive and in active duty, which her weapon implied. “You know my name.” The woman had turned back to Ben, while he had been lost in his thoughts. And again, Ben was impressed by her observation skills. He decided to nod in return. “How?” Enfys Nest asked him.

A simple question with a complicated answer, Ben thought. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t, but he was sure she would see through any lie, that he could tell her, so he had to stay as honest as possible. “Stories passed down from the time of the reign of the Empire,” He said.

“Who told you these stories?” Ben wondered why Enfys was so interested in who had told him stories about her and her group. Maybe not many people knew about them, but Ben had the privilege – if you could call it that – of being close to the best sources of wartime stories. “Family and friends,” he kept his answers brief.

One of the people behind Enfys Nest scoffed. “You’re not very talkative…”, they said. Ben shrugged. “I heard several stories, but I think I favor the ones from before you aligned yourself with the Rebel Alliance.” It was his try at a more elaborate answer because he didn’t want to provoke or even anger the people, he wanted to work and fight with.

“You must have an interesting family if they know stories from before and after that time,” the person behind Enfys Nest mused. Ben shrugged again and then they were pulling down their helmet and Ben recognized the hairless, red skin and dark protruding eyes of a Mimbanese. Their brows were prominent and looked like bones leading from the place, where their nose must be to the side of their head.

Then the other five pirates standing behind Enfys Nest were taking off their helmets, too. Ben saw two human women – one tall, with pale skin and long, blond curls, next to her stood a smaller woman with brown skin and similar hairstyle, only that hers were black –, a Sabat – the distinct shape of their pink-skinned, leathery head and the far-apart eyes giving away their origin –, a Tognath – the breathing apparatus with two tubes, the tan skin, and their unique look thanks to their insectoid and mammalian characteristics giving them dark grey and unmoving eyes that seemed to look right into one’s soul, revealing their heritage –, and the last one was a female Dyplotid – a rather large species with four eyes and much facial hair.

Finally, Enfys Nest was taking her helmet off, too and Ben immediately noticed her red hair and the freckles still visible on her face. She turned around and pointed on her comrades, “Kat and Gol Farah” – the two human women – “Waydurk” – the Mimbanese – “Gelan Yees” – the Sabat – “Faddera Rabar” – the Dyplotid – “Benthic” – the Tognath – “And you must be Magen,” she waited for Ben to nod and then turned to former stormtroopers with Jannah standing at the front, “and you are Jannah and these are your warriors?”

“Exactly,” Jannah answered – she had patiently waited for the end of Ben’s and Enfys’ exchange – and shook the extended hand of the other woman, “Enfys Nest is your name – I got that right, didn’t I?” she asked her. The Cloud-Rider’s leader nodded smiling and then moved towards the buildings and motioned them all to follow her.

\---

“Before we’re all leaving this planet, we have to agree on our course of action,” Enfys Nest initiated their meeting. “In the time of the war against the Empire, I led the Cloud-Riders, but almost every one of our decisions had widespread consent throughout the group. Because of our newcomers,” she nodded towards Ben and Jannah, “and the others, that weren’t yet alive during that time, I propose a change to that system. Instead of a strict hierarchy, I would suggest a council-like structure and when we have grown more together over the course of the next week, we could appoint a more permanent group of people, that will lead us, but until then we should have gatherings like this – composed of a few of us older Cloud-Riders, Jannah as the representative of the former stormtroopers (if you want to one or two others can join you) and one or two of the younger Cloud-Riders.”

Everyone seemed to accept Enfys’ proposal and only Ben wondered, in which group he’d belong. He didn’t like, that it seemed like he had no insight into the leaderships proceedings and putting his complete trust into people he didn’t really know, didn’t sit well with him, but he also had been lucky to find others who were fighting for peace and against the old system so fast and the more reasonable action was to stay and at least try it out to work with the others.

Then Enfys turned to him. “Magen, you don’t really fit into either group we currently have, so I think you should be part of this council as your own group and when we make permanents decision on its composure in a few weeks, we will have seen if this works or if you’re more feeling like a part of Jannah’s warriors or the younger Cloud-Riders. Okay?”

Relief filled Ben. This was a much better plan and he had enough knowledge and talent, that he would prove his worth to the others and would have a secure seat on this council. “Of course. That works for me,” he answered.

“Now we have to decide on our first targets. There are multiple groups, that currently have the galaxy in their hold: The First Order is the biggest and strongest, even if they had to endure some losses in the last weeks, the Resistance is still alive but struggling and the Crime Syndicates are as strong as ever – some of them more powerful than others. Tubes,” Enfys pointed to the Tognath, “here overheard some information, that he will share with you all and then we will decide which group we’ll target first.”

The Tognath stepped forward next to Enfys and began to speak in a scratchy voice additionally distorted by his breathing apparatus. “I overheard a conversation in a hidden bar, between someone working for the Resistance and someone else working for the Hutt Cartel. The Resistance urgently needs more resources and therefore will do some jobs for the Cartel – under disguise so no one will know about it. It would be easy to obstruct a few of these missions and thereby harm the Cartel and thwart the rebuilding of the Resistance.”

Most of the people in attendance weren’t disagreeing with that plan – it was a good one for the next few weeks, ideal to grow as a group, but Ben frowned – working with Crime Syndicates was a bold and unusual choice for the people who fought for the Resistance. He had to be sure, that the information of the Tognath was beyond doubt.

“Did you see who spoke with that Hutt-associate? Did you recognize the Resistance-member?”, he asked him. Benthic looked straight at him – the young man – seemed more and more familiar to him, but he couldn’t connect him to a place, a mission, or other people. He decided to speak with Enfys about his feeling – they would talk about the new recruits, anyway.

“I had met the member of the Resistance decades ago, but I’d still recognize her anywhere – most of us would. General Princess and former Senator Leia Organa is hard to forget,” Benthic finally answered and Ben stilled. The mentioning of his mother echoed somewhere deep in him, but this time he didn’t have to control himself again. His veil stayed in place. Maybe his disconnection got stronger over time, Ben guessed. He expected concern at this thought, concern that he was changing something in him, that he maybe wouldn’t be able to change again – but these concerns, too, never truly emerged from the depth of his mind.

“Then please forget my question,” Ben told the Tognath and Benthic accepted his answer noddingly. After that, the group talked a bit about other parts of their shared future – mostly about their resources and where everyone would stay and when they would meet again. The meeting took long enough, that everyone would board the ships the next morning.

Now they had to find a way to get intel about the handful of missions the Resistance was doing for the Hutt Cartel and then they could intercept them and hopefully gain their first victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is in place for the first encounter between the Cloud-Riders and the Resistance. Will Rey and Ben finally meet again or miss each other Nimulot-style*. There will be a fight and tension will rise - we'll also get a first look at the machinations of the First Order under Hux.
> 
> (*If you don't get that reference, you can either ignore it or watch the Netflix-series Cursed and pay attention to all the scenes, where the Weeping Monk and Nimue are at the same location at (almost) the same time.)


End file.
